Saving Money 101

Just some picture updates

2010-06-04T07:29:00.008-04:00

Been extra busy of late with my chickens, flowers, and messing with getting our pool up and running this year. Here are some pictures of the chickens and flower beds.

The front area sam has worked so hard on this year
Isn't this picture of the yellow flowers pretty?
my hanging plant is just gorgeous this year
The lasagna garden is doing well this year
My favorite chicken is rocky, she is a barred rock and greets me every day with a cluck and peck
The chickens new home minus the cover which hasn't come in yet. They have lots more flapping room now and they were so funny yesterday running around and acting crazy.

Signs of the times

2010-05-09T07:47:00.007-04:00

One theme running through the news lately has been the recession is ending but people are still in a recession frame of mind. Well some of us are still in the recession. My family still has many unemployed or not fully employed as before. My job as a social worker has been harder then ever with funding getting cut and people needing more help.I have read several articles lately about how pinching pennies has not stopped yet for the American family and how this could hurt the economy if they don't spend. But Americans are afraid to spend or still just don't have it. I say if you need it get it, if you don't then don't spend it. My motto is to become a little more self sufficient in what I do. This means in the way I spend, the things I eat, how I shop, bake and store food.

Yes we can all go crazy and plant huge amounts of food that will go to waste or we can learn to plant what we will eat this summer or to can a small amount of spaghetti sauce so we don't have to buy it this winter. Do the things that make sense, that are not overwhelming and work for your family. If canning is not going to work for storage in your house then don't plant to can regardless of the saving because the stress is going to get to you when you have to can and store jars where there is no storage.
If you can store a moderate amount of food, buy some things in bulk, freeze items, grow items, raise chickens, make your own baked goods or whatever makes your life more self sufficient then you are helping your family. If it is making your family crazy or stressing over your schedule then it is not worth it.
As for me, I am trying my hand at chickens for the eggs, planting a bigger garden to can this year then last year, I try to bake more organically and fresh then buying from the store. I have tried a lot of different things in the past year and some work and some don't so learn from your mistakes. Don't be afraid to try something you can always adjust or give up on it. I don't feel bad when I try and fail because I tried. So have some fun with becoming self sufficient. Learn to do things fun that don't cost money. Get the family to help out in the garden or buy hanging veggie plants and have the kids water them. Go to local parks and use the facilities it helps them and gives you places to play, swim, picnic, ride bikes, walk and get healthy with keeping extra bucks in your pocket.
What are you doing to be self sufficient in your family? Also I have a friend who may not need to be self sufficient but does it for the health and wellness of her family. There are many reasons to take care of yourself and family more frugally.

Libby's free face book give away

2010-05-05T19:13:00.001-04:00

Free can if Libby's fruit or veggies.

More free food Face Book Friends

2010-05-04T20:45:00.000-04:00

Free box of kraft mac and cheese.

Mandarin Orange Cake

2010-05-04T16:30:00.004-04:00

This cake is so delightful. I can not tell you the amount of people who have asked for this recipe. I was just at a birthday party the other day and they had this cake. So good and refreshing.

I got it from the book "101 things to do with a cake mix". To make the cake take:

1 box yellow (I have used white as well) cake mix
1/3 cup oil
3 tablespoons water
3 large eggs
1 small can Mandarin orange slices with the juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the above together and place batter in the greased 9 x 13 pan or three round pans.

Bake for 23-25 mins or until center comes out clean.

While that is baking for the frosting:

one large box (I am using a regular box)
12 oz cool whip topping
1 can crushed pineapple (I use the small can)

Mix this together and spread on cool cake and keep in the fridge. It is so yummy. I use sugar free cool whip and pudding. You can not tell the difference. Today I am making it with the gluten free cake mix just to try it out. The cake is so moist from the fruit that you don't have to worry about pinching corners. Good luck it is awesome I tell you, awesome.

Weight watchers points would be a 3. I figured it and it came out 2 pts but I forgot to figure the oil so it would be a 3 pt treat.

Kraft is giving away free food

2010-05-03T19:52:00.002-04:00

Free food facebook users.

Weight Watchers Journey

2010-05-01T19:43:00.009-04:00

My daughter and I joined weight watchers. I lost weight there before and I think it is a good thing for us all to be doing the same thing in the household. Here is a few recipes that I made tonight and yummo.
Blueberry Bars.....so simple: 1 can light blueberry pie filling (I couldn't find any light so I used regular) 1 box angel food cake mix Mix the two together and put the mixture into 13x9 pan into the oven at 350 degrees for about 30 mins until light and fluffy. Cut into squares (16 pcs) and 2 points a square.

These are going to bake up really fluffy then when they set they will fall down. They are very blueberry sweet, a little chewy from the angel food cake and very tasty. The two points were worth it.

Lemon Bars.....so, so simple: 1 box sugar free vanilla pudding (mix with two cups cold milk and let set up) 1 box sugar free lemon pudding (mix dry mix into the set up vanilla pudding) 1 box angel food cake mix ( mix the dry mix into pudding and
put into 13x9 pan) bake on 350 for about 30 mins. Cool, cut and sprinkle with
powdered sugar. 2 weight watcher points for each square.

The lemon squares turned out wonderful as well and so lemontastically good!!

Healthy homemade Oatmeal cookies

2010-04-25T21:59:00.004-04:00

I have been wanting to make a healthy cookie lately and have not gotten around to figuring out what kind, but these Healthy Oatmeal cookies will hit the spot. Yummo. Thanks Whole Grain Gourmet. I am going to make a couple of different varieties with raisins, chocolate chips and peanut butter chips.

Making Your Own Biscuit and Pancake Mix

2010-04-24T07:01:00.005-04:00

There are reasons for buying pre-made mixes like Bisquick and Jiffy and there are reasons for making your own baking products. Cost is certainly a factor in most cases. In the long run you can make batches of this homemade mix for cents compared to boxes of pre-made mixes but in my opinion the self sufficiency you get from being able to make the mixes, control the products that go into your recipes and the quality is very important.

I love using a quick mix like this for so many items. My favorites include pancakes, baking powder biscuits and quick breads. There are many more yummy things to use your quick mixes for like dumplings, pizza dough, pot pies...and the list goes on.....

Biscuit and Pancake Mix

6 cups flour (try mixing all purpose and wheat)
3 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1 cup instant nonfat dry milk
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup vegetable shortening

Combine the flour, baking powder, powdered milk and salt and stir until well mixed. Using a pastry blender or two knives cut in the vegetable shortening until coarse meal.

Put in sealed bag or container, date and refrigerate for up to six weeks. Makes 8 cups.

To make drop biscuits add 2 cups mix and 1/2 cup milk, mix and drop onto cookie sheet, bake 8-10 minutes.

Cutout Biscuits do the same as drop biscuits except turn out on a lightly floured surface and gently knead 10 times, roll and cut out.

Pancakes use 2 cups mix, 2 large eggs and 1 cup milk, mix and griddle.

Scones use 2 cups mix, 1 tablespoon sugar, 2 eggs 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla, preheat oven to 425, stir mix and sugar, beat eggs and cream into mix until dough forms, turn out on lightly floured surface and knead 6 times, roll out and cut into 1/2 inch thick scone rounds (or shape of your choice) don't knead again. bake for 10-15 mins. Try adding chocolate chips, raisins, dried fruits, cheese or whatever takes your fancy to the mix. Cinnamon would be good!

To make dumplings just make like drop biscuits and drop small spoonfuls into hot broth.

A good tip is to look up Bisquick recipes and just replace with this mix. One of my faves is to make taco meat and line the bottom of a rectangle pan with the meat. Top with the mix and gently press mix into meat, bake until done. Cut into squares and then top with cheese, tomatoes, sour cream, onions or whatever you like on your tacos. It is awesome. Happy baking.

Making Your Own Cake Mix

2010-04-22T21:23:00.005-04:00

We all have opened a box of cake mix for easy prep and easier time management and most of us have tried our hands at the art of homemade cake baking as well. Some people can not tell the difference between the two and some people will swear by one or the other. I myself love both. I have a few different places where I am going to need to take a cake over the next few months. I could just purchase a cake mix or look up a recipe but this time I am going to make my own cake mix and then turn it into several different types of cake. Here is what you need to do this....

Homemade Basic Cake Mix

This can mix can be stored for 12 weeks and makes about 16 cups. Use it to create other cakes such as chocolate, spice and so on.

8 cups all purpose flour
6 cups sugar
1/4 cup baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/4 cups (1 pound can) vegetable shortening

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir until all the ingredients are well blended.

Add the shortening and using a pastry blender or knives cut the shortening into flour mixture until it resembles very coarse crumbs.

Place the mix in airtight container or bag, date and store in cool, dry place or fridge for 10 to 12 weeks. I am going to use a mixture of cake flour and whole wheat flour that is made for baking. I am also going to use a mixture of splenda and sugar. From looking at the basic recipes you can use 2 eggs, 1 cup milk or water, and 3 1/3 cups of the mixture to make a cake and add what other spices and flavors work for you. You could replace the water with fruit juice (pineapple?) or butter with applesauce? The sky is the limit. Try your hand and see what comes out....I doubt your family will have an issue taste testing your ideas. Happy baking!!!

Now what? Make this chocolate cake.....

3 1/3 cup basic cake mix
9 table spoons cocoa powder
1 cup milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons butter or margarine

Combine cake mix, cocoa, and half the milk and beat. Add rest of milk, eggs, butter and beat some more. Poor into baking sheets (pans) and Bake at 375 until comes out clean about 25 mins.

Don't want chocolate well then how about a spice cake?

5 cups basic cake mix
1 1/4 teas. each of nutmeg, cinnamon
1/2 teas cloves
1 cup water
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sour cream or yogurt
2 eggs

How about adding some apples or carrots to this? The sky is the limit. Don't want water us milk or butter milk. No butter try applesauce.

Let me know how this turns out if you try it.

Chicks, Chicks....Proud Mama

2010-04-22T21:12:00.003-04:00

I got the chickens in their new home and today got some chicken fencing and a tarp to put around the little coop. This will be their temporary home for awhile. The tarp will go over the fencing area when we are not there to watch them (when we let them out for a while to graze) so that other animals won't get them and so that they won't fly away.

My big decision is going to be keeping all eight chickens and getting a bigger fencing area (more space) or down grading to 4 or 5 chickens and keeping it small. My mind tells me to just down grade to lesser chickens this year and if I like it over the winter then come spring add a few more.

My friends would be happy to take a couple of my chicks and they cost a few bucks a piece so price isn't an issue. But my daughter and I feel like we don't want to give some up....there is that word....'feel'. Oh well I think downgrading is probably going to win out but time with tell.

Yummy Amish Peanut Butter Spread

2010-04-22T09:23:00.002-04:00

If you have never tasted Amish Peanut Butter Spread you are missing out on something tasty. We live in the heart of Amish land around here so I can pretty much drive in any direction and get homemade Amish goodies. Yesterday I was at my favorite Amish shop and picked up some Amish peanut butter spread. It is lighter then peanut butter, a bit fluffier and sweeter. The Amish use this in all their restaurants around here. Give this recipe a try to make some at home the family will love it.

Planting the Early Spring Garden......potatoes and more

2010-04-22T08:48:00.002-04:00

The sun is shining....most of the time. The weather is perfect to put in some early spring veggies. So what are you planting this year?

My father in law has a huge farm area and this year I decided to use his already plowed up area (thanks honey for that tractor ride) and plant things I plan to freeze, can or store this year. My lasagna garden at home will have some plants that I want to get to immediately like my cherry tomatoes, zucchini and sugar snap peas.

This year I decided to try my hand at planting potatoes. I have never done it before and decided to give a few rows a try. Here is a site to consider when planting potatoes. I am a newbie so I wanted to make sure I am doing it right. Wish you could plant potatoes but don't have the space? Well check that site out because I bet you do if you use a little imagination.

I am also planting radishes and carrots. I tip I got was to mix the radish and carrot seeds together as they grow you can tell them apart and they are easy to thin. The radishes are ready first and when you pull the radishes there is plenty of room left for the carrots to mature.

I am planting spinach as well as lettuce. I buy several packages of frozen spinach each year and I figured why not freeze my own?

And finally I will be planting some sugar snap peas as well. As for the rest of the garden I will up date you on that as I go. If you have any questions or comments be sure to leave them and you can see the entire lasagna garden series here. (scroll down to see the first article)

Chicks, Chicks.....Moving on up

2010-04-20T17:43:00.005-04:00

Sorry to have been MIA lately, besides being ultra busy with work, my daughter and I just got back from 6 days in Orlando, FL. It was a great trip minus some small obstacles and we are glad to be home and with our loved ones and animals again.

The chicks are turning into chickens! I couldn't believe how much they grew while we were away. So it was time to put them into the chicken coop my hubby got for me. The coop can be moved around and I will probably reposition it around the yard so the chickens can take advantage of the grass and fertilize the yard for me every week or so. The coop is not going to be big enough for them in the long run so we will put up a movable fence so them can "roam" within the fence during the day where it is safe.

Here is some pics of the coop. The chicks are hiding under the coop house. You will see where I stuck the lamp in where one of the windows are to keep it warm at time. The babies still need warmth during these cold nights.

Planting the Early Spring Garden

2010-04-02T10:33:00.002-04:00

I know you are all itching to get out there in that dirt, to get dirty, play around and plant some things. Well you can. Here is a site that outlines some of the things you can plant early. Now be prepared to have to put a little more effort into this Spring garden because if you plant some things that may have to have you cover them if the weather dips too low.

There are some things you can plant and just not worry about, onions, carrots and broccoli. Now in my garden I have a broccoli that is about and inch or so high that is a self starter from last year. I laughed when I saw it the other day. Peas is another good cold starter. The goal here is to plant a few things and spread them out with different start times and perhaps varieties so you get more from your harvest. I won't be planting or doing much gardening until after April 18 when I get back from my Florida trip. Happy gardening everyone.

Lasagna Gardening 2010 :Spring Time Clean Up and Set Up

2010-04-01T11:47:00.002-04:00

Last year I started Lasagna Gardening. It is what it sounds like you simply make layers of different items like, peat moss, mulched leaves and grasses, pine needles, compost, manure, the list goes on of what you can use and you plant right into those layers. I was spectacle because it wasn't soil but it eventually turns itself into soil, it is rich in soil nutrients and worked almost too well in that my plants got bigger then my small area I set up. You can use this method to make small plots, big plots, container plots and it will work great if you are planning on square foot gardening as well. Go here to see last years posts and catch up on what it looks like and what to do to get started. My archives are funny so the beginning is at the end so scroll down to see first posts.

If you are like me, you didn't get all your Fall work done and now need to use the good weather to ready the beds for planting this year. Most things are too early to plant in my zone (Midwest) although the weather is going to be 80 degrees today this is a fluke and planting is not yet a good idea. Click here to see your planting zones.

Soon some cool weather produce will be ready to plant and we will get into that in the next post. So are you ready? Plan on getting outside in the next few weeks and clear your gardens, flower beds up or scout out where you want to place your lasagna beds. You don't need to dig...nope no digging just find where you want the garden to go and begin the layers. Go here to see parts of the book and get an idea on getting started.

So what can I can I do today, this weekend, the coming week? Clean up your established garden beds, throw the old foliage into the compost piles. Add new layers of newspaper, peat moss, manure, mulched leaves. Take advantage of the good weather to get your first mow in and mulch those garden leaves and clippings to put on your garden beds. (remember don't use the grass from the areas your dogs are going to the bathroom). Look at garden magazines, go to the local shops and see what you might be interested in planting this year. Organize your ideas and be realistic about what you can plant, eat, and put away for the coming winter month.

Raising Chicks....The Savingmoney101 Way: Chicken Coop

2010-04-01T01:34:00.004-04:00

This is a picture of my new chicken coop. OK so I searched online, searched for plans, searched in books I got at the library, talked to friends, spoke with my husband and daughter and went over and over what type of coop we needed, how to build it or buy it, where to put it...I can't even begin to tell you the amount of stress I have put myself through trying to decide about the coop.

I live in the county but it is close enough to neighbors that it has to look nice so I don't hear about it later. It needs to be easy access for me to get to the chickens and the eggs. I want them protected in summer and winter. I want to be able to open the door and let them into another enclosed area I will have when I want.

Coops cost money. Don't let anyone kid you. If you have to have something decent you can spend upwards of a grand or more if purchasing one. If you have a handy man then you can pick your plans and build, costs less but takes time and the know how to get this done. After weeks of searching today I am playing around and this coop pops up in a search engine. I have been eyeing similar designs but they start at around $1200 and this one... was $499 and shipping was free. I showed my husband and he said lets get it.

Now this amount of money is nothing to laugh at but it will be easy for my husband to put together, looks nice, will fit into many areas in my yard and is more then half the price of the same ones out there. In the long run this is going to work out a lot better, and save me piece of mind wondering how my husband was going to build the one I wanted. I feel a lot better knowing where I am going to house my chicks.

Raising Chicks....How they are getting along

2010-03-29T17:52:00.012-04:00

Hey this is my 700 post! Wow never thought I would have that much to say...well some might think I don't anyway. (smile)

Now for some chicken pictures. Yes they are so cute and darling and I know that is not going to last very long. So far they are doing well. The biggest problem I had was them getting into the water bowl and pushing all the shaving in so it soaked up the water. My friend told me to put them water/food up on a board and it has worked perfectly. In the pictures you will see what the container looks like, what the chicks look like under the red light and I got a few close ups of them huddling away from the crazy lady with the flashing light.

Raising Chicks....The Savingmoney101 Way

2010-03-28T18:37:00.007-04:00

Yes, I am a newbie to this but I am confident in my skills. I read a lot so my research is pretty in depth. My friend started raising chickens last year and she has done OK so I know I can too.
So what do I need to get started raising chickens?

The first thing you are going to need is a place to keep the chickens. People use all types of things from cardboard boxes, baby swimming pools, steel watering buckets, and my choice was a 45 gallon tote from big lots for $12 bucks.

Once I am done with it I can use it to store things in the garage or garden. Just remember they will begin to grow, need space to move around and they jump and fly so something with higher sides is better.
The second thing you need is a heat lamp. I bought two heat lamps from the tractor supply, you could get these at home improvement store. I got my lamps for about 7 bucks each. Then you need RED lamps to put in them. Chickens can turn on each other with white light and it gets intense for them if too bright.

The third thing you need is shavings for the floor. Pine shaving work best NOT CEDAR. The chicks love to play in the shavings, they go to the bathroom in it and push it all around.

The fourth thing you need is a watering and feeding supplies. I bought mine for about $2 bucks apiece. I would suggest getting a water one for sure but the food one can be a small bowl. I ended up taking the top part of my feeding thing because it wasn't coming out very well.
Now to decide where you are gong to keep them? I have a lot of people suggesting keeping them in the house..not gonna happen. I talked to the guys at the tractor supple and said I was thinking of my garage. He said that was fine and where he keeps his. With the two heat lamps on full time and I have them lifted up off the ground onto a table they are kept pretty draft free and warm. I checked on them all the time yesterday and today and they are fine. The rule is...if they are huddled under the lamp they are cold. If they are trying to get away from the lamp they are hot. If they are wandering around and kind of spread out they are fine. Mine were fine and the low way 30's degrees last night.

They love to chirp too....
Choice your chickens wisely. What type of eggs do you want? I got four types. The advice I got was that they would get along if they were raised together otherwise they will fight. Well they will fight anyway. One chicken will try to dominate the other chicks at some point anyway but that is for another day. These are cold weather hardy chickens, friendly and docile. You want to hold them (washing your hands very well after) as much as you can when checking on them because you want them to be friendly to humans. Just don't let little kids stress them out or other animals. Each week the lamps can get a little further away from the chicks as they grow and don't need as much light...a 5 degree decrease a week.

Today I had to check each of them for what I will call "crap ass". Not friendly sounding or fun to do but sometimes the chicks get the crap all dried up around their butts and if not cleaned properly can die. Two of my chicks got a nice warm paper towel to the butt and rub. They didn't like it and neither did I but it had to be done.

They drink a lot of water and spill it, play in it and push the shavings in it. Big sigh..they are babies.

I did some reading on cleaning out the chicken holder and most said as long as the shavings are not wet you can just add more on top of it so I plan to do that mostly but they are getting water everywhere so tomorrow I am going to clean and replace the shavings. I will put them in a box while I wash and dry their container.

You need to check on them at least three to four times a day to make sure they are warm, have food and water. There is plenty in my house to help so this is not an issue for me.

That is the beginnings of chickens 101.

Chicks, Chicks.....Raising Chickens the saving money way

2010-03-28T12:40:00.006-04:00

Hello Spring...It is baby chicken time. I thought about this for the past year. I went back and forth over raising my own chickens. I was out, I was in, ....sometimes I just get impulsive and jump. Here I am. Basically I live in the county area and I have lots of space. I have about 3/4 an acre and my back yard is totally fenced in for the dogs. I thought where will I put these chickens? Luckily for me I have a nice little spot on the the side of my house that is shaped like a U. The house is on one side and the other sides are surrounded by fencing. My yard butts up against my neighbors fenced in back yards so everyone is quite far away from my yard. It is a secluded spot away from the road, the neighbors and animals (predators). With the shape of the U, I can also put up a movable fencing to let the chickens range (roam) a bit as well and the dogs can't get to them.

So why go to all the trouble to raise your own chickens? Well there are several reasons:

To have all natural, organic eggs that actually have 40% more nutrition then the eggs you buy in the store. YES, it true they are more nutritious in vitamins, minerals and have less cholesterol, they have orangish yolks, and the more orange the higher the vitamins. The yolks stand up better, the whites are not as runny. Its all true. Believe me I have read everything I can to understand raising chickens.

If you have a local farmers store (Tractor supply, Rural King or more) you can go buy a magazine for under $10 and there are plenty to pick from all of them have tons of information on getting started with chickens. You can also buy your chickens there, check them out, ask questions, see what supplies will cost and so on. You can mail order chickens as well, but I spoke to several people and I liked just picking out my baby chicks, they were healthy, cheap ($1.25-2.00)each. Put in an Internet search for raising chickens and you will get tons of info. There is no one specific site I feel like I can endorse so I will let you explore the net on your own.

Later on I will begin Part One of raising chickens by explaining what I purchased, about how much it will cost you and why you need it.

Spring is in the air....I think?

2010-03-10T10:26:00.002-05:00

If you live in the Midwest we have been having a glimpse of Spring lately. The weather has been upper 50's and today may reach 60 degrees. The snow is melted except for those pesky dirty piles that seem to take forever to disappear. The ground is wet, ugly and just a plain hot mess. Soon you will be getting ready to hit the yard again.

The winter was a long, cold one and I know you were all looking at seed catalogs, thinking about picking fresh strawberries from you garden and much more. Now is the time to start to prepare yourselves, you ideas and your plan for this year.

My friend, Denise got me a great book called, "Preserving the Harvest" and it is all about recipes for canning, freezing, drying and pickling garden treasures. I will start to post some from that as time gets closer. The object of this book is to do small batches of stuff as they ripen instead of having an overload because you waited.

I will continue with my lasagna garden series as I begin to prepare my gardens again and make new spaces for other produce I want to grow.

So you ask, "What can I do now?" Well to start you can rake up your yard and use the mulched leaves in your garden area. Pull up the old garden crap you never got to before the winter came and begin to take stock of where you plan on putting your garden this year. If you don't have the space, time or want to have a bigger garden consider using pots for a few small plants OR plant a few small plants in with your flowers.

Let me know what your plans are for this year. I wanna hear all about it and it will help me answer questions as well. Happy almost spring!

Melalueca Products

2010-03-06T13:16:00.004-05:00

I have the most sensitive skin. I am allergic to everything and I started my journey to make as many products at home as I could to save me money, to save the earth, to alleviate my sensitive skin and more. A client told me about Melaleuca and I put off hearing from a consultant for months and now I wish I hadn't because so far I love the products.

Here is how it works and at first I was very leery of the entire concept because I just wanted the products and not the sales pitch. When you join Melaleuca you help the person who helped you get in earn money. It is as simple as that as you purchase products they make money off your purchases. Now if you are a business person or a person who would like a stay at home business then this may be an opportunity for you, however if you are like me and just want the products then that is doable as well.

My Melalueca person contacted me last fall and several months ago I consented to hearing the "sales" pitch over the phone. She simply walked me through the program and I watched videos as she spoke with me. There is a yearly fee ($29) sometimes they have specials and the fee is waived as well. I became a preferred member so I get an extra discount for agreeing to buy a certain amount of products a month. You can cancel your preferred membership at any time.

Here is the nitty gritty of the company. They are environmentally on top of it, they work to use less, get more from your money by using concentrated products and they are famous for their tea tree oil which has many healing and cleaning properties.

My biggest concern at the time was my dry skin. I bought the Renewal lotion with tea tree oil and I can honestly say that my skin sighed with relief when I used it. I was trying to make my own lotions to get away from scents and chemicals but I though I will give this lotion a try and it is working. My itching is way down, my skin feels softer and smoother.

I ordered a few of their concentrated cleaners. I usually make my own. The tub and tile cleaner is great and you can breathe while you use it, it has a fresh scent and is made from all natural ingredients so no one would get more then a belly ache if they ingested the entire thing. I also got a kitchen cleaner that is working well....I continue with my beloved vinegar for the windows but so far I am enjoying the cleaning products and I love the fact that they wont harm me in the least.

I had a problem with shampoos and conditioners. I have very dry hair, my scalp itched and I constantly picked and itched at my scalp. One month into using their shampoo/conditioner my scalp is not itching and I feel so much better about my hair/scalp health.

My husband is using the pain a trate (like Ben gay) and its working. The bar soaps are french milled so they last forever and after using two of the bars I don't itch when I get out of the shower. But the Renewal body wash that goes with the lotion has been the best thing yet...so wonderfully feeling. I tried the toothpaste and although it cleans well I didn't like the mint so I ordered the Cinnamon to try and will have my family use the other one.

I have purchased some crackers and activity bars but have not tried them yet due to my diet the past few weeks. Today I ordered the laundry soap, pre-spotter and softener to try out. I usually make my own soap but want to give it a try as well. I ordered some shampoo for my daughter today as well she has the opposite of me having more oily scalp so it will be interesting to see how her hair takes to the new shampoos.

They have vitamins that are cutting edge, beauty products, weight loss and much more. So far I am happy with the entire products and wish I would not have waited to try it out before now. Take a look and see if this might be for you. If you want more information feel free to leave me a comment and I will get back to you.

Eat This, Not This

2010-03-05T23:33:00.002-05:00

I have been doing pretty well on my better eating style the past few weeks. I am down 9 pounds and I am not killing myself just trying to eat better choices. I am addicted to carbs and I need to balance those better along with adding more fruits and veggies each day but I hope to continue to eat better each day. The one thing that does make me suffer is staying away from fast food places. I admit that I am addicted to fast food. If you eat a lot of fast food your mouth craves that feel and regular food doesn't taste as good at first. I miss the drive thru but I don't miss spending the money and I know I am doing better when I drive on past and go home to eat instead.

There are books out that show you, "Eat This, Not This," and this is one of those websites that show you what might be in the sandwich you choose and a better choice. Some of the calorie counts are shocking. I have never been to the cheesecake factory before but I can tell you right off if I had I would have picked the chicken club they showed and it would have ruined my calorie count for the day. Check it out.

Healthier Peanut Butter Cookies Updated

2010-02-22T10:21:00.005-05:00

My entire family has been eating better this week and it shows with everyone showing a weight loss this week. We started out by detoxing for a few days with only eating raw fruits and veggies. It was difficult but it helped clear your system out and shell shocked me and my husband from diet soda. My poor hubby has given up his white bread, miracle whip, and diet dr. pepper. Very difficult for him.

We slowly added back in some whole grains and then some chicken. We kept the fruit and veggies as the main part of the meal. My daughter has been helping me a lot by prepare meals, cleaning up and we have been eating as a family.

Last night we were discussing dinner and how much we were craving something sweet like cookies but we didn't really know what to do with it so we talked about what cookie recipes I have that can be healthy. My friend, Denise made monster cookies this year that were great and I made them several times since. So my daughter and I sat and played with that recipe on the recipe calculator to see how we can get it to be healthier. We took out m&m and put in nuts, then we took the nuts back out...we just played around until we decided what would it taste like just as a peanut butter cookie? And this is what we came up with....my version of the healthier peanut butter cookie. Here is the recipe if you were to use splenda sugars and almond butter, Healthier Butter cookie.

Although the calorie count is still up there a bit, the ingredients are really good. They turned out great and a couple of cookies hit the spot so well. If you want a weight lose site this one is great Spark people. I like using it for recipes, recipe calculator, message boards, calorie counting and more.

New blogger site

2010-02-21T05:26:00.001-05:00

Awesome new blogger site I found on whole grain cooking. Going to try out a few of the cookie recipes. It is called the whole grain gourmet.

Life has been crazy lately

2010-02-21T04:18:00.007-05:00

My life has just been crazy lately. Do you ever feel like life is controlling you instead of you controlling your life? That is kinda how I have been feeling lately.

On the up side my whole family is trying to eat more healthy and we have all lost weight this week. On the down side of that is the dizzy, lightheaded, crappy way in which you feel when you are kicking the bad habits. My hubby is having a hard time giving up his diet Dr. pepper, white bread, miracle whip and peanut butter. The kids are doing well since they have been doing this for awhile already. I have to give up diet coke and fast food....wow.

Work has been up and down as social work often is but I am dealing fairly well with work right now.

The depression is kicking my butt however I continue to deal with it every day and every sleepless night.
On the good side, I booked a trip to Orlando Florida with my daughter for mid April. This is a very big step for me, actually it is huge. I am going somewhere without my husband which has never happened before, not like this. I have taken a weekend to drive to my sisters of something but big trips have always been with him and I rely on him to keep me grounded, safe, help to lessen my anxiety but this time I will have to do that on my own and help my daughter with her anxieties. I seriously hope I am up to this...but I feel this may be a big hurdle to get over in my life.

I will be posting some recipes soon on healthy cookies that I want to try. We will also start some a series on gardening again and see what we all need to do to start to prepare our yards for the spring to come.

Blogging about depression

2010-02-13T02:43:00.004-05:00

I have had no energy to blog lately. I have been a little more busy with my clients lately but not enough to really not have time to blog. It's the depression getting the better of me. I have blogged in the past about the depression, anxiety and panic before and it does go up and down, however for the past few months it has really hit me hard. Honestly if I didn't have to do anything but stay under the covers for the most part I would.

About 5 years ago I went through major therapy and I dealt with a lot of things. I learned to be more independent, I worked on my marriage, my relationship with my daughter, my friends, family and more. But some times there is only so much you can work on until you just feel better and back off. That happened to me. I did what I had to, I worked hard and I learned to live again and things were so much better.

But I never dealt with the bottom line of my issues and have not as of yet. Like many people I have daddy issues, mommy issues, abandonment issues which have all lead to weight issues. As I learned to cope I did very well but when things are not fixed inside they will come out in different ways to make themselves known.

What used to freak me out no longer does, panic attacks lurk in the darkness now instead of broad daylight. After the day settles down for most my anxiety begins to bubble and boil to the breaking point. I have the jitters. My mom calls them the heebby jeebbies. I feel unsettled, unable to sit, to lay down or to sleep. My mind races, my legs twitch, the thoughts race, race, race and panic is a constant companion to the darkness.

So back to therapy I went. I am still dealing very well with a lot of issues but the anxiety and panic is still there. I function, I work, I talk, I laugh, I go to movies, out to eat and I push myself to do those things, enjoy those things or my life would come to a halt. I have been here before and I will never go back fore pushing forward is the only answer.

Medication is a must for me. I obviously have a chemical imbalance. I have tried lots of meds over the years. I have meds now that I think just mask the issue because they keep me steady.....just enough to take the edge off but never enough to make the true issue go away. I hate medication. I hate pills. I have Xanex and I never take it very often although I can if I want. Even that is not dulling the panic and I am not an avid user of it.

I having my education and background know that the medication and cognitive therapy go hand in hand and so I continue to seek the answers through both. I have sought out a new doctor to talk about medications.

You see I am a freak of nature. I say this jokingly but I truly feel I am. I hate medications so much that when I try new ones I don't even know if they work because my mind rejects them, my body says something is wrong with the meds and I never really even given them a fair chance to work. That is how crazy I feel at times.

Yes I have stress, I have issues, I have lots of things to deal with and take care of but the bottom line is I am not healthy. I am not mentally healthy or physically healthy. My mind realistically knows it must take care of my body but something just doesn't allow me to do so. I eat horribly, I just don't take care of myself and this adds to the burden. My therapist brought to my attention that I don't even believe myself worthy of taking the meds everyday, eating right, and taking care of myself...she is so right. I have to change that belief. I have to change period but this is where the fight is a constant battle in my mind of who is going to be the victor....I plan on winning in the end but some battles just seem to take so long.

You see I am a fighter. I am stronger then most people will ever realize. I stayed quite when I was supposed to and I yelled, kicked and screamed my way away from those that would hurt me. I stood up for myself at the age of 10 when most would have crumbled under the pressure. I stood up for what was right and valuable to me....my self worth....but not on the inside...in there I am a crying, lonely little 3 year old wishing someone would make it better except she is forty now and she has to once again champion the world for her self and her worth once again.

That is what I deal with every day and the past few months have been hard, very hard. But I have not given up and so I take each day and hope for the best.

Twinkie anyone?

2010-02-03T22:07:00.003-05:00

I have been watching a really interesting series on TV called Life After People on the Discovery Channel. If you have comcast On Demand you can go under the series part and see all that have aired so far. Anyway....it is really interesting to see what might happen to earth after humans would disappear. Last night talked about places like grocery stores and what would happen if humans disappeared.

There were a couple of really interesting facts brought out from last night and one of them is Twinkies. Now we all know they are full of lard and sugar and as kids and even adults we still like them. This "food" has already been proven to last past its packaging date...some 25 years but it is estimated that Twinkies can last up to 100 hundred years past its date if the package has not been compromised. It has to do with the preservatives they put in them and I wont even attempt to name what those preservatives are because I don't think there is a spell check for those words but it keeps the cake and filling moist. Anyone for Twinkies now?

The other food mentioned was honey. Yes good old honey if stored in a "glass" jar with a very tight lid could last hundreds to even thousands of years and still be good. Talk about a restorative food. It may crystallize a bit but it is still good. They found honey in crockery jars in Egyptian tombs some 1400 BC that was actually edible.

The interesting thing is dehydrated food can last up to a hundred years if properly packaged. This intrigued me because my friend Denise got me a wonderful book on gardening that talks about canning, freezing and drying foods. So I might try my hand at drying foods this year and post about it.

The last really interesting thing was butter. Yes good old fashioned churned butter was found buried in Europe peat bogs and some of it was hundreds of years old and still edible. Why? Put in glass crocks and buried in the peat moss it was kept at a constant temperature and didn't allow any oxidation. You could eat it like it was normal.

What food is in your house that would last the test of time? Just FYI one thing that freaked me out is the bugs that lay eggs in your food (fresh, frozen, canned, organic doesn't matter) that the naked eye couldn't catch that hatch if not eaten or properly stored. FREAKED me OUT.

This could not look any better: Peach Dump Cake

2010-01-30T18:13:00.003-05:00

Ok so I have seen this recipe for peach dump cake before and it always makes my mouth water. Here she is again...I think I have everything for this recipe on hand...oh yeah baby. Thanks Bakerella for another good old recipe from heaven.

Homemade Products: Cereals

2010-01-28T21:33:00.004-05:00

Cereals are not just for breakfast anymore. I use them as a quick lunch or dinner and even as a snack. They are great for putting in a baggie for fast snacking.

My friend Denise has a great granola recipe that you can see by going here. There are many granola recipes out there but I found Denise's to taste very good.

Let's talk oatmeal. How many of you purchase instant oatmeal for the ease? You can easily make your own to dsave money and give your family a quick meal with the best products you put in the recipe. Try out this recipe for oats that is sure to please and you can make it your way.

Oatmeal mix recipe: Combine in a large bowl 6 cups quick cooking oats, 1 1/3 cups dry milk, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves. Add one cup of dried fruits and or nuts. Like more fruit add some in, don't like the spices then leave them out. Dry milk is a little pricey but remember you can use it in a lot of other recipes. A quick tip on dried milk a long time ago I worked with a lady who had six kids and they just could not afford milk (imagine how much milk they would go through?) She used to make dry milk and then take a gallon jug putting half the dry milk and half the reg milk to cut down on the price.

How about Toasted Muesli for a great start to the day? I am going to make this for a snack for sure. Recipe: Preheat oven to 350 and in a 15x 10 baking pan 2 cups old fashion oats, 1/4 cup sunflower kernels, 1/4 cup sliced almonds and bake for 10 to 15 mins or until almonds are golden. In a large bowl combine 1/3 cup chopped dates, 2 tablespoons oat bran, and stir to coat the fruit with the bran. Add the toasted oat mixture, and 1 cup bran flakes, 1/4 cup toasted wheat germ, 1/4 cup raisins, and 1 tablespoon sugar. Stir to gently combine. Place in an airtight container label and date. makes 3 1/2 cups (7 servings)

Homemade Products: Laundry Soap

2010-01-28T19:25:00.004-05:00

I have been making my own laundry soap for a couple of years now. I have mostly made the liquid form up until recently. It is very easy and after many recipes I found the easiest one for me. Some is just trial and error until you find a mix that works for you. The recipe for the dry laundry detergent is as follows:

Laundry Soap: 1/2 Cup soap flakes (grated soap bars), 1/2 cup baking soda, 1/4 cup washing soda, 1/4 cup borax, 1 clean 16 oz plastic container. To make lightly grate the bars of soap, mix all together and store in tightly sealed container. Use 1/2 cup of mixture for each load of laundry.

Tips for this recipe: one bar of Ivory soap equaled 1/2 cup, 3 bars to a pack so I tripled the recipe. I just sat down and hand grated the bars it is very easy and use the fine grate. You can use any type of bar soap. If you like more smell then use a heavier scented soap. My grandmother loved to use Zest because it cleans like crazy and she used it as a spot remover too. I use ivory because it has a clean smell. I have no issue with my dry skin or sensitive skin using these products. Washing Soda is different then baking soda and can be bought on line. Around here I have only found it at Meijers in the laundry aisle. It is about 2-3 bucks a box.

If you want a homemade Fabric Softener try this recipe: 1/2 cup vinegar poured into the final rinse cycle or dispenser. The smell fades away and it leaves your clothes soft and is more gentle on the clothes then regular softeners. I have used it and it does work however I like April fresh and it doesn't bother my allergies so I stay with that vice.

The Liquid Detergent go here to a previous post I had on this recipe. (I found you can use ivory dish detergent in place of bar soap or ivory hand soap)

Want to see what you can use these products to do? Click on the links: vinegar, washing soda (explains what washing soda is...), baking soda and borax

Homemade laundry soap will NOT suds up like regular laundry soap. Do not be alarmed by this it is still working it just doesn't need additives to suds. I like the ease of the dry soap a scoop in the machine as it fills up and you are good to go. I like the liquid but it is a little messy most people call it gloop because it looks like that but it works well too.

Just a little more should do it......

2010-01-24T21:48:00.003-05:00

The other day I blogged about being afraid to use up my frozen/canned reserves. I got some comments (thanks you all) from other feeling the same way I felt....like a loony wanting to hold onto our hard labored efforts. In this age you can go to the store and get what you need anyway so I suppose we sort of got programed into thinking this way. Years ago they had no choice but to eat their put up food storage.

Today I was at at my favorite place to get meat and veggies when I saw they were marking the produce they had in cold storage way down. I was able to get pie pumpkins for 10 cents a pound. I picked up 3 more pumpkins to puree. I also got a half bushel of apples and will be making some more apple pie filling as well.

I plan on making an apple pie and an apple cake as well to freeze for after dinners later next month. I buy the aluminium tins at the dollar general for a buck (for 3) and usually when making a cake recipe will split it into to of the tins so I can pull one out for a quick dessert and smaller portions.

So the next time you have a chance to go to the local markets or farm markets you might get some good deals to put up for the remainder of the winter months.

Bran Yeast Rolls

2010-01-23T14:58:00.003-05:00

I just wrote about death and how much of it we have had lately. I was flirting around on the websites and found this recipe which reminded me of my grandmother. These bran yeast rolls are the exact recipe my grandmother (who passed a few weeks ago) made all the time except she didn't add honey for I am going to now. As she got older I took over the recipe but we have not made them for the past year. It made me remember her, the good times and the wonderful food she always prepared with love. Thanks for the reminder. I am going to make these for dinner tomorrow. YUMMO.

Death

2010-01-23T14:04:00.002-05:00

Death seems so prominent in the lives of my family and friends this past six months. I don't know if it is because I (we) are getting older so we are seeing more of it or if it is something else.

My friend Jodi had three grandparents and an uncle pass away. My husband lost his grandmother. I lost my grandmother and we just lost a cousin today. My husband's Aunt and Uncle lost two relatives during this time period as well. It just seems like so many deaths.

I understand death comes for a multitude of reasons, old age, sickness, accident. I love that these people whom have passed on are better off then we are here on earth. I pray that someday I will join them in celebrating our Lord. I understand it all...it just seems like a lot of death is all and that makes you think, wonder and hope for more out of life.

I understand love and live in the moment, remember what you have, keep their memories alive and I want to keep all that close. Again it just seems like a lot of death.

I am not overly sad, or morbid or even seeking answers, I just see death ....that's it I guess...we have just been visited by death a lot lately.

Homemade Products: Lotion

2010-01-21T18:31:00.006-05:00

I am really hyped about this lotion. I made the body butter last week and it has been working great but is a little harder and I do like a creamy lotion. I found this recipe and I just whipped up two batches in less then 15 mins. LOVE IT! Keep in mind that the ingredients you buy can be used for many, many other things and so your investment over time is minimal. Let me give you the actual recipe and then I will break it down into what I did and how it turned out for me.

½ cup distilled water
½ cup oil (I usually use olive, almond, macadamia nut, or grape seed) 1 TBS liquid lecithin

You can experiment from here by adding essential oils, combining other oils; you can steep beneficial herbs into your water before you add your oil, etc. . .

Here is a nice winter lotion to get you started:

½ cup distilled water
½ cup olive oil
1 TBS lecithin
6-8 drops of geranium oil
2-4 drops Myrrh oil
400 IU Vitamin E oil (1-2 open capsules)

Geranium oil is good for supporting balance and rejuvenating dry skin conditions and for wrinkled and matured skin. Myrrh is a gentle oil that is effective in replenishing moisture.

Vitamin E oil is an excellent antioxidant and helps to protect the skin as well as a nice preservative.

Blend all ingredients in the blender either on whip or cream. You will have a nice creamy firm lotion. Add more water to make a lighter lotion. Store in the refrigerator in hot climates or store in a cool place. Shake well before use.

Enjoy your lotion. Hopefully this little recipe will inspire you to become creative!

OK lets break this down. Water-I read online that using distilled water is better because of the chemicals (chlorine) in tap water. We have well water so I just used that but remember the shelf life of homemade lotions is less then preservative store bought ones.

Vitamin E I bought liquid soft gels from dollar general for $6. This was cheaper then most stores. You can use the Vitamin E for lots of things and actually take it as a supplement. Cut the end off the capsule and squeeze out the liquid.

Liquid Lecithin is a pure vegetable substance. I found it at the Vitamin world for 4.99. Get the small bottle it will last forever.

Oils- I used Almond oil and jojoba oil. I made two batches and on the first batch used the almond only and on the second batch I mixed the two oils. You can use all types of oils. When they say olive oil they are talking about pure cold pressed olive oil not extra virgin.

(geranium, myrrh, orange, lemon, lavender and more are essential oils you can find in the tiny jars at health food stores and more. Here is the website for the place I get mine for a fraction of the price at health food places. You can also get the lots of other ingredients there and oils as well. Swanson health products )

I had geranium oil so I did use that in the first batch and substitute jojoba oil for the myrrh oil. I found the geranium oil a little over powering, it smells fine but just not me.

The second batch I used orange and lemon oils because I love citrus smells and it was perfect. Just make sure the scents you use won't bother your skin or others if giving it away.

The whole thing was as easy as could be. Put all the ingredients in a glass bowl and mix with a hand blender. I have a blender that you can put a whipping setting on so I did that. It took only a few minutes on low/high and I had a nice creamy lotion.

Don't forget to get containers to put your lotions inside...I was at Walmart today and they have containers in the travel section. These are perfect. I used a funnel to get my lotion in the container and I was done. Remember to keep your lotion in a cool place out of the sun and direct light. It should last you a couple of months. I am so happy with the outcome of this lotion.

Homemade Products: Healthy Home Remedies

2010-01-20T22:09:00.004-05:00

Disclaimer: Keep in mind that most colds/flu are viral and no pill can help anyway. These home remedies are to help make you feel more comfortable as you struggle through the aches and pains of winter. They are not meant to replace a doctors advice.

Winter oh yes Winter. The house is stuffy and so is your nose. The cost of health care is rising and so is the products we need to get well. I know my husband and my cobra health care has finally run out and we just can not afford to go to the doctor. There are coupons out there for buying cough syrup, decongestants and more but this year I purchased some simple staples to keep on hand to see if we could heal ourselves more organically. Keep in mind that if you are on medicines as I am you don't want to mix other chemicals with your meds (store bought stuff) so I am always willing to try something new. I also HATE taking any more pills. I take enough in a day as it is. So here is to your health and never actually needing to make any of these products.

Essential oils are expansive and you want to make sure you use real oils. My friend Sara told me about a great online site that I ordered from and I now have a lot of my oils on hand for cleaning and wellness for a fraction of the price at the store. Oils should be stored in cool, dry, place and they last a long time. I also got my oils, Shae butter, cocoa butter, aloe Vera and more from here.

Electrolyte Drink for Diarrhea: If diarrhea persist for more than 24 hours seek a doctor. 1 cup apple juice, 2 cups water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, juice from a lemon or lime. In a pitcher combine apple juice, water, salt and lemon. Store in Fridge. Drink throughout day to maintain hydration and balance of electrolytes.

Chest Rub for Colds/Bronchitis: 30 drops of massage or oil (almond, jojoba, avocado) 5-10 drops of eucalyptus or wintergreen essential oil. In small bowl mix the carrier oil with the essential oil and rub on your chest. Cover your chest with a cotton towel or flannel and place a heating pad or hot water bottle on top of flannel and snuggle under blankets.

Another Chest Rub: 12 drops eucalyptus oil, 8 drops essential oil, 4 drops peppermint oil, 2 tablespoons almond or olive oil. In small dish, mix all. Rub on chest and cover with a warm, damp flannel (warm in microwave) and leave on until warmth fades. Don't burn yourself!!

Cough Suppressant Medicine: 1 large onion finely diced, 2 cloves garlic finely diced, 2 tablespoons diced fresh ginger and honey. In small saucepan, combine onion, garlic and ginger. Add honey to cover and cook for 30min on very low heat. Mash together and let cool. Store in clean jar with tight lid in fridge. Take one teaspoon every 15 to 30 mins.

Steam cough Relief: 4 cups water, 2 drops thyme oil, 4 drops eucalyptus oil and 2 drops hyssop essential oil. In saucepan over medium heat get almost boiling, pour into a bowl and add oils, hold your head over the bowl about 8 inches above water and drape a towel over your head. Keep eyes closed and breath deeply until water cools.

Gargle Solution: This old fashioned gargle will make your throat feel much better and costs little. 2 heaping tablespoons brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda and 1 quart warm water. Combine and shake well, gargle with 1/2 cup as often as needed.

Herbal Inhalant: 1/4-1/2 teaspoons rock salt, 2-4 drops peppermint oil, 2-4 drops eucalyptus oil, 2-4 drops wintergreen oil. Put the rock salt in bottle of small glass jar or bottle and add oils. Carry with you and sniff as needed to open clogged nasal passages. (I usually don't have rock salt but I would probably just use sea salt to see what would happen) Can you imagine what this might look like if you pull up to someone driving and sniffing? LOL...Bet it works well.

Decongestant Salve: Give that blue/green bottle a run for its money. 4 ounces olive oil, 1/2 once of each peppermint oil, eucalyptus oil, 1/2 wintergreen oil, 1/2 grated beeswax and 4 drops tincture of benzoin. In the micro using 30 sec intervals heat oils, add beeswax and tincture of benzoin and stir until melted. Pour into clean jar with tight top and allow to cool. Put under your nose or chest as needed keep in cool place for up to two weeks.

Drops for Earache: If your kids have ear problems keep this on hand. Doctors don't like to give medicine for earaches anymore so try this one. 1 clove garlic crushed, 2 tablespoons fresh or dried mullein flower 1/2 cup almond or olive oil. Combine garlic and mullein flower then cover with the oil and seal the top, shake to blend. Store in cool, dark place and shake daily. Make sure herbs are under the oil for two weeks then strain and store in fridge. To treat earache let the oil come to room temp or run under warm water and dispense 2-3 drops with eye dropper, massage in ear to help the oil make its way thru the ear canal.

Fever Spray: Spraying pulse points (wrists, behind knees, jaw) with this soothing solution will bring down a fever quicker then any pill. It feels good too. 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol, 1/4 cup witch hazel, 3 drops peppermint oil, 2 drops lavender essential oil. In clean spray bottle combine, shake and chill in fridge. Spray on pulse points. Avoid mouth/eyes.

Using your Put up foods

2010-01-18T19:46:00.002-05:00

Today my friend, Denise and I had a conversation about our put up food items. We both canned, froze, pickled and more this past summer. We were so proud of ourselves for gardening, working hard to get the items put away for winter days....The problem? We are in the middle of winter and we aren't using our put up food storage items. What we discovered after talking to each other was that we were both afraid if we used our put up food we would run out of our supplies. This really got us to chuckling.

Last night I was thinking that I was going to run out of blueberries, apple pie filling and pumpkin. But that doesn't mean I should stop using what I put up. In order for us to get better accurate ideas of what we need to put up for next year we need to use what we have put up for this year. What a strange pair we are.

Anyone else ever feel this way? Maybe it is because we are a little newer at this storage game or maybe it is because we are neurotic messes but whatever the reason we realized what we were doing and have agreed to get to using our food supplies. Better to use them now when they are freshest and buy some stock supplies later as needed.

Tonight I made homemade stove top lasagna with my canned/frozen spaghetti sauces. I also made an apple pie that I will be cutting into very soon. I got out some of my apple sauce for lunch tomorrow and some blue berries to make muffins tomorrow as well.

We are both super excited to get our gardens going for this year as well. (yes we know we have a wait but that doesn't stop the excitement). I am reading a canning book that Denise got me and will do a series on that this year as well. Let me know what you all put up food wise this year and how it is going for you.

Homemade Products: Salad Dressing

2010-01-17T18:05:00.003-05:00

Salad dressing. Remember back when we were little and there were just a few choices? Thousand island, Italian, Russian/french? Now that Ranch has made it way on the frontier you also have every variety known to man out there. What is in those convenient little bottles? Well a bunch of fat and chemicals to preserve it. Now I know I am guilty too there is nothing like dipping a chicken nugget in a creamy ranch or slathering some honey mustard on a snack and all that is fine when you are at a restaurant but what about when you are home and you have access to the healthier stuff? Well here are a few recipes to get your started.

Butter Milk Dressing Mix: This mix is easy to make and stores in the fridge for a month. 4 1/2 cups butter milk powder, 1 1/2 cups freeze dried chives, 1/2 cup dried dill crumbled, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup dry mustard. Whisk together until well blended. makes 7 cups

Butter Milk Dressing: 10 tablespoons of butter milk dressing mix, 1 cup warm water, 1/4 cup cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons sour cream or plain yogurt. Whisk together until blended, let sit at room temp. for an hour then stir until well blended. Makes two cups.

Ranch Dressing Mix: 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons dried minced onion, 1 tablespoon dried, crumbled parsley, 2 1/2 teaspoons paprika, 2 teaspoons sugar, 2 teaspoons salt, 2 teaspoons pepper, 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder. Put in small air tight container and shake to blend can be stored in cool dark cupboard for up to a year. Makes 6 tablespoons.

Ranch Dressing: 1 container Ranch dressing mix, 1 cup mayo, 1 cup buttermilk. Blend well and refrigerate leftovers, Makes 2 cups.

Orange and Almond Dressing: 3 tablespoons orange juice, 4 tablespoons almond oil, 2 table spoons oil (olive, canola etc), salt and pepper to taste. Combine and whisk before using. Stores for up to a week in air tight container. Makes 1/2 cup.

Welcome new followers

2010-01-17T18:02:00.003-05:00

As always welcome to my new followers. Here is a lady with an interesting take on life and she has some great links you all might find interesting. Welcome to my blog. I have added her site (Sustainable living) to my side bar as well.

Homemade Products: Cleaning Products (freshners, polishes and mold)

2010-01-16T17:23:00.004-05:00

There are so many coupons available these days for air fresheners. You can get fa breeze, Lysol, candles, glade the list goes on and on however there is one thing you get in these products you didn't bargain for and that is chemicals that can be breathed into your body. Yes they can be cheap, easy and convenient I won't deny that but I can honestly say I have not missed them in my home in the past several years. My allergies love the scented fresheners that I make and I don't have to worry about the harmful chemicals.

The recipe in the Homemade book is as follows: 12 oz spray bottle, 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol, 25 drops of essential oils and 1 cup distilled water.

My recipe is pretty easy I get a spray bottle (I bought color ones for the bathrooms) and I put in water from the tap (we have well water). I add 20 to 40 drops of a couple different oils. I like the citrus smells and I tend to like it more overpowering. I would recommend labeling it for people who don't know what it is however in my house every one knows its use. Everyone loves it. In the bathroom you can give a few spritzes and it is heavenly. In the house a couple of quick sprays takes the smell out of the living room and kitchen. It dries quickly because you should but it on the mist setting.

Remember you can add a teaspoon of baking soda as well. Using tea tree and lavender oils have disinfectant agents as well.

Furniture Polishes

Lemon Oil Furniture Polish: 1 cup Olive oil, 1/3 cup lemon juice, 1 clean 16 oz spray bottle. Combine and shake well. Apply small amount to soft flannel or cloth and apply evenly over wood surfaces. Use clean cloth to buff and polish. Make a fresh batch when you want to do furniture again.

NO Fuss Furniture Polish: 1/4 cup boiled linseed oil, 1/8 cup vinegar, 1/8 cup whiskey, clean 16 oz spray bottle. Combine and shake well. Apply small amount of polish to clean soft cloth and wipe on. No need to buff: the dullness will evaporate with the alcohol.

Mold & Mildew Removers

Spot Mold and Mildew Remover: 1 cup vinegar, 2 tablespoons borax, 4 cups hot water, 16 oz spray bottle. Combine and shake well. Spray on surfaces and wipe off mildew or mold. This spray will help to keep more from forming. This works great on window sills, cabinets, bathrooms and other surfaces.

Homemade Products: Cleaning Products

2010-01-14T20:57:00.004-05:00

General Housecleaning Recipes

I have been making my own cleaning products for the past few years. I love the fact that I can breathe when cleaning, it doesn't tear up my hands and hurt anyone or anything in my house. I find that I mostly use baking soda and vinegar for just about everything. I know a lot of people don't like the vinegar smell but I now associate it with clean!!! Here are some recipes from my new Homemade book that might interest all of you. I am going to break these down into sections and add a few new ones over the next few weeks. Here are some General Household cleaners.

Basic window and Glass cleaner: 1/2 cup white vinegar, 2/3 gallon water container to mix it and spray bottle to put small amounts in. This will do a lot of windows. (Hint I just take a spray bottle and put part vinegar and part water and then use everywhere in my house) You can also make a super window wash by adding 1/4 C rubbing alcohol.

Citrus Disinfectant: Peel one orange, lime or lemon and add it to 3 cups white vinegar in a quart jar, store for 2 weeks, strain peels and you have a cleaner. You can also put in a small bowl and deodorize a room.

Tough Multipurpose Cleaner: 1 1/2 pints water, 1/3 c. rubbing alcohol, 1 teas. clear ammonia, 1/2 teas lemon juice, 32 oz spray bottle. combine and shake well.

Like the smell of Pine Sol? Pine Floor Cleaner: 1/2 c soap flakes (grated bar soap) 1/4 cu washing soda (I get mine from meijers) 1 cup salt, 2 c. water, 2 teas pine oil, 1 cup white vinegar and 1-16 oz plastic bottle. In sauce pan on low heat combine soap, washing soda, salt and water stir until dissolved. Remove from heat and cool slightly, add pine oil and put in bottle. Use the vinegar in half bucket of water to rinse the floor.

These are all good cleaners and I like the basic ingredients and you can add essential oils to most to get the desired smell. I often use baking soda to clean all parts of the kitchen and bathroom. If I need a scrub I make a past with some water and soda. I honestly use my water vinegar mixture with a couple of drops of liquid soap on everything in my house. I will add more recipes for cleaning over the next few weeks. Happy Cleaning.

Make Your Own Body Butter (Updated)

2010-01-13T15:41:00.016-05:00

On my quest to live more naturally I am intrigued by making my own soaps and lotions. One main reason is that I have a lot of allergies, sensitive skin, dry skin and I can't take too many fragrances. To help me keep the dry skin and itching under control I need a pure, natural way to clean and moisturize my skin without harsh additives and chemicals. Hence my trip into body butters. I am going to attempt to make a body butter bar which you can use just like lotion. You just smooth it on your skin. I think this would work great on problem areas like elbows and heels. I am also going to make a whipped body butter.

Here is the video that shows you exactly how to do it. It looks really easy. As for the ingredients I have decided to use as pure and organic as I can get. Primarily because I want to do what is best for my body. Chemicals actually seep into your skin. When buying the products you should look for the words: 100%, pure, organic and do not buy synthetic.

The ingredients are: Beeswax, cocoa butter, shae butter and oil. You can use any type of oil, pure (not extra virgin)cold pressed olive oil, coconut oil...etc. I am going to use sweet almond oil.

Solid Bar: Take 3 oz of shredded, or beaded beeswax, 3 oz cocoa butter, 3 oz shae butter and melt that in a glass bowl then add the 3 oz of oil, stir lightly and pour into the molds of choice. Let cool and pop out of molds when solid.

Whipped body butter: Take 3 oz cocoa butter, 6 oz shae butter and 3 oz oil. Melt and blend with a blender for a minute. Then place in freezer for a few minutes, blend again, keep doing this until you get the desired consistency.

Here are some tips that I have when making the above body butters. When using/buying the beeswax look for the kind that is already beaded. If it is not and comes in a solid form just break the brick apart into pieces. I tried to shred it and it was a mess. When I just used chunks it was fine.

I melted the beeswax first using a glass bowl and the microwave at about 30 secs intervals until almost melted then add butters and micro again until melted. When making the whipped body butter if you have a whisk setting it worked well, if not use a hand blender. It took me about 4 times in the freezer at 5 mins each time before I got the consistency I was looking for however don't forget about it because the last time I could tell was about a minute or so longer then I needed. To clean up use really hot soapy water.

You can add essential oils as well. My first time out I have to say was not hard at all and I felt pretty confident about making the products. I will test it out over the next few weeks and see if I have to tweak any of it to suit my needs better. Please let me know if you try this recipe out, if you have made products like this before and it you have any ideas, questions, or helpful suggestions.

Updates: After the product sat for awhile it hardened. The video looked nice and soft. I bought the butters from a health food store and when I opened them they were hard also so I think that is why it hardened.

Also I was a tad overwhelmed by the cocoa butter smell at first. Remember I am sensitive to smells. My daughter loves the smell, she says it smells like cake. After applying the smell actually goes away rather quickly if you are sensitive to smells and it is not unpleasant at all.

When first applying the lotion it felt a little greasy and I though "oh great this isn't going to work". However once you apply it the oiliness goes away and after product is such soft skin. My elbows feel heavenly. I had some dry, itchy spots on my thighs and it took it right away.

I believe the possibility that the butters were older and I probably needed a tad more oil made the butters harder but it still works and I know for next time.

The butter bars turned out good but are not quite firm enough. I don't think I had accurate measuring on the beeswax. I plan on putting them in the shower to use right when I get out of the shower.

After doing a bit of research I do believe there are different types of butters (hard and cream) Here is a website called Swansons that has the products at very cheap prices and shipping is cheap too. These products are way less then the health food store. I plan on getting some essential oils there as well.

Homemade Products

2010-01-10T22:19:00.002-05:00

Over the past few years, I have been trying very hard to be more efficient in my usage of all products. At first it was to save money and although there still is a degree of economic reasons why I make homemade products the real reasons have become more apparent as I have gotten better at making them. I like making my own products. I like knowing what is in the products. I like saving the environment, my budget and getting the self satisfaction of knowing I can make something that is helpful, and better for my family.

This year as I go further into making my own products I will experiment and share the recipes and ideas with you. Some will turn out great, others won't but that is OK because that is how I figure out what works for my family. So far in my house I make several things that have been a wealth of benefits to my family.

-laundry soap, cleaning products
-broths, soups, puree pumpkin, frozen meats, fruit, meals, desserts, veggies
-mulch, gardening,

These things have been staples for the past six months or longer. Come along with me as I delve into the world of homemade this year and see what I can come up with to save money and help my family become more self sufficient.

Old Family Recipe for Carrot Cake

2010-01-09T13:53:00.003-05:00

At my grandmother's funeral my great Aunt brought her carrot cake. It was so good. It was the best carrot cake I have ever had. I looked online to see recipes because I didn't have hers and wasn't sure because I kept coming up with pineapple in the cakes. I love pineapple but I was sure there was none in her cake because I never tasted it but surprise there is pineapple in it. I got the recipe from my sister in law today. I am making this tonight. My sister in law said that my aunt freezes the cakes all the time too so my plan is to make a cake and freeze half. Here is the recipe and I will ad a picture later on today.

Big Bon’s Carrot Cake (this makes one 9 x 13 cake)

Preheat oven to 325 (bake 30-35 mins)
Makes 1 9x13 pan grease and use wax paper on bottom to easily remove it if you want
Sift together:
2 Cups Flour 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1.5 teaspoons Baking Soda 1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Add to dry ingredients:
1.5 Cups Oil 2 Cups sugar
4 eggs (beat in one egg at a time)

Lastly add:
2 Cup grated carrots
1 small can drained crushed pinapple
¾ Cup Nuts
(if doubling batch use one big can pineapple and drain/and squeeze out extra juice)

Frosting:
1 8oz cream cheese
1 stick butter
2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla

You can freeze this cake fully frosted.

Sad News....

2010-01-02T10:23:00.003-05:00

My grandmother passed away on New Years Eve. She had just turned 90 a few weeks ago. She was ready to go having spent the past few years in a nursing home. We have the viewing and funeral to attending to in the next few days.

I am OK with this passing. I will miss my grandmother dearly. She was one of the most important person in my life. I never questioned her love for me. I haven't had that grandmother in quite a while for she wasn't the same once she went into the nursing home.

My faith has really grown in the past few years. I have a deep unfailing belief that my grandmother is way, way better off then we left behind are and I know she is pain free, loving and living the life she was meant to have in heaven. So although I will miss what we had I completely rejoice in her home coming with my loved ones departed and our Lord and Savior in Heaven. May she rest now and know it will only be a blink in time before we are all together again someday.

I loved you grandma and your memories will always be in my heart.

Merry Christmas and God Bless Everyone

2009-12-22T14:24:00.001-05:00

Hoping everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a blessed day with family and friends.

New Year, New You

2009-12-16T11:00:00.002-05:00

Any New Year Resolutions out there? I have to admit I am not going to make any big announcements for resolutions because I never stick to them however I do want to work on several things in the new year and hopefully I will check them off one by one as the year goes by...

I want to be healthier (that means many things, losing weight, eating better, taking medication on time, continuing my therapy, working on my relationships) I make no promises to myself other than I will put my best foot forward
I want to save enough money to go to the Netherlands with my family in June/July of 2010.
I want to become involved in my church services again
I want to develop my friendships more deeply and make new friends
I want to be more adventurous
I want to take a vacation with my husband

There is lots of other stuff too but this is a good start and things I can work on with out making big promises to myself. Hope you all will be a little more kind to yourselves this new year. Do something good for yourself. Have some more fun and remember life is for living and you are worth the effort it takes to make that happen. :)

Christmas time treats

2009-12-10T17:35:00.005-05:00

This year it is all about the ease of making treats. I love to bake but I will be honest time and patience are not my strong point this year so here are some of the things I have been working on for Christmas goodies.

I love no bake cookies and if you have not had them before or for a long while whip up a batch of these babies and freeze some for later. Yummo!!

Another fun item I made was splenda chocolate cocoa. It was very easy to make and I put tiny little marshmallows in it as well. Then I made some really cute stir sticks by putting candy canes in a chocolate mold and so they come out with little snow men chocolate shapes wrapped around a candy cane. (I would show a picture but my camera is not working). Just replace the sugar with splenda for a sugar free version.I will also be making some chex mix and puppy chow mix. These freeze well as well and make great little gift bags for baskets. If you really want something different and want to use chex mix for jars or gifts then check out their site there are tons of recipes for making fun types of chex mix. I am also making my own candy this year. I did this often when I was a kid and my mom and I would make fun chocolate shapes, buckeyes and more. This year besides the candy canes I am making turtles. I found a really easy way to fill molds and use the chocolate as well. Put your chocolate pieces in a zip lock bag and place in the microwave. Set the time for 20 second each time until melted. It usually doesn't take much. Snip the end of the bag and poof...instant chocolate with no mess.

To make the turtles take 4 full pecans and put them into a circle then dribble a little chocolate over them, then take the Carmel ( I put the Carmel in a zip lock bag as well until warm then you can pull little bits out) make a small circle with the Carmel and place on top of the chocolate, finish by covering up with more chocolate. You can let them sit or put in the freezer for a quick set. I usually use a plate or cookie sheet lined with wax paper. These are so yummy as well.

The last thing I will make is my mint patties. Take mint chocolate and melt it in the microwave or double boiler. once it is melted then take Ritz crackers and dip into the mint chocolate completely covering the cracker. Place the cracker on wax paper and let cool or place in freezer for quick set. These taste like Girl Scout mint cookies.

What are you making this year?

I have been a bad blogger lately

2009-12-02T09:32:00.002-05:00

I have been a bad blogger lately. The only thing I can say is that life has been running at top speed lately.

This weekend I will post on some ideas that I am using to put Christmas baskets together. I will share some recipes as well.

Tomorrow is my 40th birthday so I will be whooping it up at the local casino tomorrow night. We get these free nights sent to us and the rooms are so beautiful. If you think we spend money you would be wrong. We very rarely ever spend more then 40 or 50 dollars. We play the penny slots and most of the time we hit enough to play for a few hours on our money. My husband lucky guy that he is has hit over 400 dollars several times and we play on a little of that and take home what we brought plus some.

Because he has it the mother load (to us ) they send us free nights, free gifts, free playing money. The last time we went we played on 110 dollars of free money and walked away with 500 free winnings.

Thanksgiving 2009, Really?

2009-11-22T23:54:00.006-05:00

I find it hard to believe we are almost closing out 2009 and that Thanksgiving is actually this week. I am sure there is plenty for everyone to do this week. I am hopeful that I will learn to relax some this week and not run around like the turkey that got its head chopped off!

I do have to work this week and have pies, desserts to make on Wednesday as well but I think I might bypass the after thanksgiving shopping this year. I haven't seen anything that makes me want to get up early as of yet...

What ever your plans are keep yourself sane, take it easy, stay safe and try to have some fun this holiday.

Cookie Exchange

2009-11-19T20:17:00.002-05:00

My friends and I are having a girls scrap booking day tomorrow and we decided to have a cookie exchange. Thank you Denise for the idea. I have been wanting to do this for years. Basically everyone brings a cookie and enough for others to try and take home. We are each bringing two different kinds. You copy the recipe so everyone has a copy and it is a great way try new recipes out and taste things you might not have made at home before.

Happy cookie baking everyone.

Black Friday Ads

2009-11-16T09:33:00.001-05:00

Black Friday ads are making their way around the Internet. Many companies already have them on their websites and you can go to hotcouponworld to see all the ads out so far.

This gives you plenty of time to compare prices, get your coupons ready and or order coupons online (coupon clippers on left side bar). I love this because you don't have to wait until Thanksgiving to see the ads. You can make your lists and make your plans now.

Last year I got mostly stocking stuffers by going to CVS and Walgreens early. But it was definitely worth it. Happy shopping.

How do you do your oatmeal?

2009-11-11T21:21:00.006-05:00

The winter winds will soon be knocking on your door. You want to lose some pounds, you want to get the kids off to school with a full stomach and a warm but quick breakfast...well oatmeal to the rescue. The winter months bring many coupons and sales for oatmeal as well so you can really scoop on the savings and make a cheap, easy meal. It's not just for breakfast either. Think of a busy day of running around, the snow is falling and you make oatmeal with a table center piece of options to put in the oatmeal. Finish it up with some wholesome milk or a smoothie and your family will be full and satisfied. So the next time you see instant oats, old fashioned oats or steel cut oats on sale with a coupon in hand plan a breakfast, lunch or dinner for cheap.

Growing up I had oatmeal on special occasions...we were not a breakfast family. We had it cooked on the stove and we poured milk over it and had brown sugar too. I still like it with brown sugar but I also like raisins, dates and nuts too. But there are a million different ways you can eat your oatmeal and here is a site to help you do just that! Some of them seem off the wall but you know...if you like it and it is good for you...go for it. When I saw this site I thought...well we are always looking for new recipes, and economic eating...here you go.

What a week..

2009-11-07T21:08:00.002-05:00

How is everyone? I have had no time to blog and little time for much else but keeping up with my life. Trying to get back into the swing of things at work, seeing clients, traveling, paperwork, and computer work.

Cleaning out my father in laws house before it falls in has been lots of fun..not. He lived like a hoarder and lots of stuff to go through.

Now the funeral of my husband's grandmother is over my father in law has been well....an ass lately so dealing with those sorts of emotions as well.

I feel overwhelmed by all that is going on in my life right now but trying to stay ahead of the game and get enough sleep, and keep the anxiety at bay.

Working on recipes for Christmas baskets this year and trying to pick out what I want to make, what will be the easiest for baking/making and the most frugal but also fun and yummy. My daughter will help with the baskets this year.

I made a yummy apple cake tonight and just frosted it with a simple homemade cream cheese frosting. I had some apples going soft and didn't want to toss them so this cake was a breeze. Here is the recipe if anyone is interested. The only changes I made was that I doubled the recipe, I used one cup of oat flour and I actually used about 5 1/2 cups of apples because I had them so I tossed them in and it took a little longer to bake but came out moist and yummy. The frosting I just used one brick or cream cheese, I stick of butter, a dash of vanilla and enough powder sugar to make it creamy.

Making today....Can't wait

2009-11-03T10:04:00.003-05:00

I just can't wait to make this chocolate cake. I am going to let the recipe and web site pictures speak for themselves. Yummy, Yummo, delish....thank you pioneer woman...your site has been added to my blog list. Thanksgiving, work carry in...need I say more?

Made this tonight..oh so yummy...let it sit about ten minutes and then cut into it while its still hot...it is very good. Easy to make and would serve alot.

A long few days...

2009-11-02T17:47:00.002-05:00

Thanks for all your wishes and prayers everyone. The viewing, mass, funeral and dinners were all so beautiful and hopeful for a wonderful afterlife into heaven. The mass today was done at a local church by a priest that recently moved from our church so it was good to see and hear him as well.

Often times people in their coffins look scary and not the same but my husband's grandmother looked so lovely, peaceful and happy. Gives you hope for the heavens above.

Start back at my job with lots to do tomorrow so will post some new things soon.

A Sad Time

2009-10-28T09:40:00.002-04:00

This is a sad time for my family. My husband's grandmother passed away this morning. She lived a very long life and had been in a nursing home and recently in the hospital. I am thankful my husband was able to take his dad up to see her on Monday so they both got to see her before she passed into the Lord's hands.

My father in law lives with us having had a stroke a year ago and has some dementia issues but not when connected to his mother. I had to tell him she passed this morning and it was hard to watch an 72 year old man cry for his mother. What are you to do?

As if this was not enough we are beginning the task of going through my father in laws house today and packing away what can be saved and junking what can not. We set up storage and have a huge roll off trash dispenser coming today. You see my father in law lived somewhat like a hoarder so there is an immense amount of crap to go through. In addition the house is in bad shape, falling apart and when we were over there last week we had to remove furniture because of growing mold. This task will fall to my husband and I because my brother in law has little to do with most of this and of course he is working while my husband is unemployed right now.

Last night we bought some moving supplies and I picked up some masks. I have severe allergies and the dust, cobwebs and mold makes being in that house pure hell on me. It hasn't been cleaned in all the years I have known my husband as far as dust goes. I sure you can picture it well.

We were to tell his father about the house today but now we just can't tell him to add to his burden. The house is falling in and it will have to be demolished. This is a sad time and a lot to handle, to do and deal with in a short period of time.

Chocolate Chip Butter Cookies

2009-10-25T19:15:00.003-04:00

These cookies are really yummy. I bought the Taste of Home Holiday Magazine and it has tons of fun stuff to make in there. This looked really easy and quick so I though I would give it a try. If you like a short bread kinda taste then these are for you!

1 Cup Butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 Cups all purpose flour
1 Cup confectioner sugar (powered sugar)
1 cup (6 oz) choc. chips

That is it. Melt the butter and add the vanilla set aside to cool down. Mix the Sugar and flour together add cooled butter mixture and choc. chips. The mixture will be crumbly. Mine was slightly wet but crumbly within a few minutes of sitting out. Use a cookie scoop or teaspoons to get small balls place on ungreased cookie sheet. Slightly flatten. I found that if I just made a ball and flatten slightly in my palm it was easier then pressing them down because they stick. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 12 mins, edges should be getting slightly brown. Cool on wire rack. I just left mine to cool on sheet for a few minutes and these tasty little babies are good. The recipes says you can get 4 doz but I got no where near that so I must have made mine really big or the ones they made are super small. Let me know if these work out for you.

My camera ran out of batteries so I will post a picture tomorrow if they don't all disappear.

Christmas is right around the Corner

2009-10-21T20:27:00.002-04:00

When I go into the store, I like to see the present season being displayed. I say keep Halloween up until Oct. 31, then move on to Thanksgiving and so on...

But that never really happens and we get hit with Christmas around every corner. Most of us have lost jobs, down sized or are scaling back on Christmas again this year and I wanted to remind you of my Christmas Corner. Here you can see some ideas and recipes I posted last year and as we move along I will add more ideas as I see them. It never hurts to plan ahead, make things if you can and try to enjoy the season instead of running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

If you have some ideas please post them and any websites as I am sure everyone would love to share in your ideas.

Meet Grady....our new adopted daughter

2009-10-20T21:23:00.006-04:00

My friend Denise lovingly let me have her dog. She was having some issues with her going in the house at her house and I said well give her to me and lets see is she has the same problems at my house. My house has dogs going in and out all day and I wondered if maybe she just needed a different environment. She has done very well. She sleeps with my daughter in her room at night and only had one small accident but we think it may be because she didn't get the time out side that night she needed...not sure. She is a ten year old collie. A testament to you, Denise, she is a very loving and well behaved dog. She has not fussed, fought or caused any problems since she has been here at all. She is loving, she is really funny to watch play with my other dogs especially my little shitzu because she is like a rabbit playing with a horse. Here are a few pictures of her.

Updates and such

2009-10-20T11:36:00.002-04:00

Things have just been hectic around here lately. My husband and I got away for a full night and day for free at a local hotel and casino. We had a free night and won $400 bucks. It was fun.

I have been working on trying to get my house into some sort of order. My allergies are really into full gear and I would like to take all extra junk in the house sitting around and get rid of it. I don't need extra things collecting dust.

Also need to be working on the outside of the house and getting ready for winter. My plan is to get the old flowers and weeds yanked. I still want to start some lasagna garden areas but have not gotten that far yet.

I will also be going to Fort Wayne, In this week as well because my old job called and they would like me to work part time as needed basis which is fine since there are very little jobs to be had around here right now. We live in Elkhart County which is one of the highest hit unemployed areas in the country. Tough to find jobs here right now.

Stockpiling Homemade Style (UPDATED)

2009-10-13T22:53:00.004-04:00

I don't know about all of you but my recipes never turn out exactly like the ones I post about. If you are a new cook/baker my recommendation is to stick to the recipes. If you have been cooking a long time..(like me) then I usually use the recipes as a base for what I am making. The recipe for cream of chicken soup below is a great way to get started. I used my fresh stock broth and I didn't use as much milk as they said. I also used clear jel as a thickening agent. (Tip: if you can find clear jel get it. It is wonderful in all types of foods). I didn't have all the spices they suggested so I used what I had and it came out wonderful. So don't be afraid to try some variations on the recipes. If it doesn't work try something different next time.

I have been extra busy lately preparing food for the family and getting things in the freezer. I told you about a great local store near me that has good prices on fruits, veggies and meats. I usually use the Amish butcher for my meat but lately they have had better cuts of beef for better prices. Today I got 20 lbs. of ground sirloin for 2.29 a pound. I also got 10 pounds of chicken breasts (boneless) for a little over a 1.00 a pd. So what did I make today?

I made a big batch of tater tot casserole. We ate half tonight and the other half is lunch tomorrow. I made sloppy Joe's for dinner tomorrow night. Everyone has crazy schedules tomorrow. I browned and froze about 6 pounds of taco seasoned meat. I made up four 1 pound meatloaves and froze those as well. I have about 5 pounds of beef left which I will probably just brown and freeze tomorrow.

Chicken I slow simmer all day to get a wonderful homemade broth. I am going to make homemade cream of chicken soup tomorrow. See recipe here. I am going to shred most of the chicken tonight yet and freeze it for recipes. I will either freeze the broth or make chicken and noodles this week yet.

My freezer is getting pretty full and I have a few homemade desserts in there as well. Good thing because it looks like I have a belly button hernia and will probably have to have surgery. Hopefully this will be a quick in and out procedure. In Jan. 2008 I went in for two hernias and they ended up having to take care of eight hernias and I was cut from breast to belly button. I was laid up awhile with that and never want to have a repeat.

Not doing a whole lot

2009-10-09T11:39:00.002-04:00

Things have been a bit of a bummer around here. Both my husband and I being unemployed are both having issues with our unemployment for the past two weeks which has made things extra hard on the budget lately. I am working on getting my coupons in shape and search out some good deals. I have a good winter stock of fresh foods put away which will help. I am working on stockpiling cold meds, tpaper, Kleenex and other much needed items.

I have been playing with my new knitting projects which has been fun, relaxing and I got some great deals on clearance yarn. Scarves for all family and friends for Christmas this year.

It has been raining nonstop here in Indiana so yard work is out and so much to do to get ready for winter.

I just wanted to update everyone and will be searching out some deals soon to post.

I taught myself how to knit...well kinda

2009-10-06T20:38:00.004-04:00

I bought one of those knitting looms and watched a young girl on utube until I figure out how to do it. Here is the final product. Not to bad for my first try.

I got a blogger award

2009-10-06T15:59:00.002-04:00

Thanks Jane4girls for this lovely blogger award. I need to sit down this week and spread the joy of blogging awards to others. It was very thoughtful of you. If you have not seen Jane's blog site be sure to visit her (on my right side links). She has great posts as well.

Using your coupons to get the best deals

2009-10-06T11:45:00.002-04:00

Every once in a while a coupon deal comes along that you really want to get in on and you don't have enough coupons to get the best of the deal. I saw a great deal on Skippy peanut butter posted at Moms by Heart. If you use a manufacture coupon and a Target coupon you can get skippy for .04. Now my hubby loves Jif but when I can get peanut butter for .04 cents then it is on baby.

I don't have enough Skippy coupons so I use coupon clippers to order more so I can get in on this deal. I got skippy and other coupons totaling: $4.30 for a face value of over $24 dollars. I can get ten skippy for $1.20 (that is the .04 plus the .80 the coupons cost me.)

You can get coupons by using coupon clippers, ebay, hotcoupon world and more. I use coupon clippers because if I order before Wednesday at a certain time I get my coupons on Saturday and can still get in on the deals of the week. This Target deal though goes longer. Target coupons usually last a few weeks at least.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-10-02T13:12:00.002-04:00

The week is just flying by...

I have been working on apples filling, applesauce, pumpkin puree, Carmel apples, making hamburger patties for freezer, freezing corn and more. I have more on my list to finish up today. My friend gave me her apples so I need to get to those too. I also got myself some new crafts to work on and have been visiting with my friend as well.

This weekend I will post on what we need to do to get our gardens ready for winter. I have lots to do outside while the weather is still decent. In the Midwest it turns on you fast around here. One day is 80 and two days later it is snowing.

Gifts from your Heart & Oven

2009-09-28T21:05:00.002-04:00

Ok these are so cute. To my friends and family you are getting some of these so act surprised and delighted when they come your way at Christmas but I just could not keep these to myself. Go here to see this great idea and this wonderful new website I found.

Mini Pies....UPDATED

2009-09-28T00:37:00.003-04:00

These little mini apple dutch pies turned out great. They take about three bites and are perfect with a cold glass of milk. YUMMO.

I have been making more apple pie filling for the freezer and was considering making some little miniature apple pies. I have more pumpkins to puree tomorrow too and then I ran across this post by bakerella. YUMMY. I think I am going to go ahead and make the apple pie minis and some of these cute little pumpkin pie minis as well. I will freeze a batch so I can pull them out in a few weeks for a quick desert. Give her site a browse. She has a whole new site and so many yummo recipes to try. She is always on my left side bar as well. Thanks Bakerella for the wonderful recipe ideas.

General Mills Project

2009-09-27T14:19:00.017-04:00

I read about this project offered by General Mills on Jane 4 Girls. The project is Join my village and you can join by visiting the page, signing up and joining a village. General Mills will donate money to that village for:

Answering a quiz question $1
Joining a village team $1
Inviting friends to join $1

You can donate up to $3 a day by simply going to the website and answering three quiz questions. It took me less then 10 seconds to answer the quiz questions and three dollars goes a long way in these countries. Check it out here to get all the details on how you can help by simply joining the project.

Pie without the crust? I don't think so...

2009-09-25T18:21:00.003-04:00

I went back to my local Shelton's store and got another bushel of apples for $4.99. I also got a peck of gala apples to mix with the Paula Red's for the applesauce. The applesauce was super easy. I don't have a special mill or anything. I peeled, cored and sliced the apples. I have no idea how many I used, maybe 1/2 bushel. I used a big stock pot and added about 2 inches or so of apple juice (I used simply apple juice). Start the apples and juice cooking to get the apples tender. After they start getting really hot and tender put them on low with a lid and let them simmer until done. I added about a cup of cinnamon sugar. (this was special raw sugar that had Cinnamon on it). I took a hand held blender and blended away. My daughter likes it with little bits of apples so I blended until I had the consistency I wanted. Taste test .....we had several bowls to make sure we got it just right. SMILE. Let it cool some and put in your freezer bags. Very easy you can't go wrong.

Those were only $2.69 a peck. Last night I did some research on the pie crusts and found that freezing pie crusts are a simple way to have them on hand. I can't stand store bought pie crusts. Here is the recipe I found to make a good old fashion crust. Once you get them into the disc size then you wrap them in wax paper and saran wrap, then put them into a Ziploc bag to pull out the night before you want to make the pie. I figured I might as well get all this done and have all the pie makings at hand or else I wont use up all the apples I am freezing.

My goal this week is to get all the pie crusts done, wrapped and frozen. Tonight and Sunday I will be working on finishing up the apple pie filling, applesauce, plain apples and pumpkin puree. I have a few more zucchini left in the garden that need to be shredded up as well. Other then that I believe I am done with the canning/freezing portion of this years food.

I am pleasantly surprised at how much I have learned this year about making my own food, canning/freezing, gardening and more.

Facebook and Sara Lee

2009-09-24T11:25:00.000-04:00

If you are on facebook you can become a fan of sara lee and get a coupon for $3 off Sara Lee. Go here to become a fan.

Canning and Freezing....more stuff UPDATED

2009-09-23T16:58:00.005-04:00

Update on all my work today. The carrots and celery came out fine. I loved using my dicer to do the work. I also got this handy new peeler and I will never go back to using a hand held peeler again. Here is a picture of the peeler. It cost $5.99 at Bed, Bath and Beyond. It fits in the palm of your hand. Sweet!

Here is a picture of the apple pie filling. I can not tell you how good this tastes.
There was a bit of a mess up on the recipe amounts. I used 4 quarts (16 cups) of apples. I used two cups of sugar. Other wise I used the same amount they recommended for most everything else. I used freezer bags and so I mixed the apples and filling together before putting in the bags.

And you can also see the carrots and celery I bagged today as well. I have lots more apples to do tomorrow and will post an update on applesauce.

We have a local store called Shelton's here where they have produce at rock bottom prices, specials and locally grown fruits, veggies, and more. Depending on what you are looking for you usually get pretty good prices on seasonal items. Today's trip was a good one. I was able to get a bushel of Paula Red (Love that they are named after me...LOL) for $4.99. I got bulk carrots for a couple of bucks. Celery at .89 each, plums so cheap it was unbelievable and fresh cantaloupe for $1.00 each. I also got bulk walnuts (shelled) for $3.99 a pound, some smoked Cheddar cheese, eggs for .99 a doz and discounted bagged lettuce that date is 5 days away. I picked ups some other produce and milk as well.

My plan is to take the carrots and celery and freeze them in portion bags for cooking. Here is the thing with carrots and celery. I never have them on hand when I need them and canned mixed veggies are too salted and not used enough to take up space on the shelves. I love to make stews and pot pies during the winter and this will make for easy recipes this winter. For the prices I got I can't pass up the opportunity to stockpile some fresh produce. You can not can carrots unless you have a pressure cooker so I will be freezing mine. Go here to see how to do it.

From what I can see raw celery should not be frozen and it is recommended that it be steamed or boiled first. It doesn't have a long freeze time, (3 months) so I will make sure I use up what I do freeze before the end of the year.

I also will be freezing and canning my apples. I am going to make apple pie filling and will be making applesauce a bit later this next week or so. I will probably just have some bags of apples around for muffins and such as well. I plan on dicing part of the apples so the small size will already be ready for me to use.

I also got some mushrooms for a good price so I will be trying out the homemade mushroom soup and freezing some of that as well. My friend, Denise made it and said it was good.

So I have a lot to do in the next few days so I had better get to work and not let my good buys go to waste. I will post some pictures of all my hard work later. I truly feel this is all worth the effort, to help cut costs, eat healthier, have the produce on hand and make great food whenever I want to make it.

Stock Piling 101

2009-09-23T10:18:00.002-04:00

Jane 4 girls has a great post on stock piling today. No sense in recreating the wheel so check out her post here. This is very good advice for all newbies out there.

Making your own cards

2009-09-22T19:08:00.003-04:00

Well technically I can not say this is a frugal hobby, however if you got all the materials and didn't continue to purchase new things ALL the time then it would be frugal. I am big into scrap booking and just getting started with stamping. I got turned onto Close to my Heart stamping and scrapping supplies. Their stuff is A+ quality and I can say there are some areas I will scrimp and stamps are one I will not. Better to get the ones that last. Anyway here are some of my attempts today. It was fun although I can't cut a piece of paper to save my life...I still had a good time. If anyone is interest in Close to my Heart products just leave me a comment and I can hook you up with my lady. You can do it all over the Internet and it ships to your home. Another nice feature.

Mini Pancakes

2009-09-19T21:34:00.003-04:00

I saw this recipe on bakerella last week and I really want some but I never seem to be able to get myself moving in the mornings to make them...so I am going to make the batter tonight and bake them in the morning. This will make a great Sunday morning breakfast...although no one but myself and my father in law will be home tomorrow morning. I think they will probably be good as little snacks throughout the day. She makes the cutest, yummiest things.

I made these this morning. I didn't have any syrup can you believe it so I used honey in the recipe instead. I also used barley flour since that was handy last night. Make sure when you are putting the batter in the muffin pan you use a teaspoon and it doesn't take that much other wise you will not get 24 muffins and they puff up too much. You will also need to run a knife around the edges when done to pop them out. I just put a little honey butter on mine and they were good.

Pumpkin Puree

2009-09-19T19:14:00.003-04:00

This was easy as pie, no pun intended. Above is the picture of the pumpkin puree. When I do it again, I will cut the pumpkin into smaller pieces which will be easier to handle. I cut the small pumpkins in half and they are HOT when they come out so it would be easier if the pieces were smaller. Go here if you want a recap of how to make/freeze your own pumpkin.

Yummy...Apple Muffins

2009-09-18T06:42:00.002-04:00

I am trying these ASAP. LOL Go here to see these delish apple muffins.

A Fall's Harvest...What are you doing with it?

2009-09-18T05:56:00.005-04:00

Hello all. It is hard to believe that we started not that long ago with the beginnings of our Lasagna Gardens and other garden methods. As Fall approaches rapidly we need to start wrapping up what is left of our gardens, begin to prepare our gardens for the coming winter months and thinking about what we want to do for next year. You can go here to see all that I have done so far with my lasagna garden.
I bought some small pumpkins and will be freezing my own pumpkin puree this weekend. I love pumpkin and found that freezing the pumpkin for future recipes could not be easier. I also want to use the seeds for future cosmic cookies or a tasty treat. Go here to see how to freeze/can pumpkin. I really like the idea of having the pumpkin on hand but also that it is as natural and organic as you can get. It is cheap to purchase the small pumpkins and worth a little effort to have wonderful recipes in the future. If you read up on pumpkin you will also find that it is not overly recommended for canning because of the low acidity however it can be done.

I want to hear all about your gardens this year! What worked and what didn't. What are you proud of and what are you never going to do again? Want to vent, brag or dream of next year do it here.

Next year I plan on planting a little smarter. I will give my plants a little more space. I will bulk up on the things that grew well and I want to freeze. I will plant only what I know I can use. (yes this means very little lettuce...LOL)

In the coming week I will blog some ideas from the gardening series on how to prepare for winter. Now is a great time to get a Lasagna Garden area ready for next year. If you are thinking about making a garden area for next year then prepare it this Fall. Its cheaper too...garden supplies are on the discount.

Welch's: Harvest of Help

2009-09-17T10:37:00.001-04:00

Welch's: Harvest of Help

Posted using ShareThis

Cosmic Cookies

2009-09-14T22:21:00.004-04:00

I made Cosmic Cookies tonight. These cookies are very healthy for you. They are packed with protein, made from all organic products and taste so good. My friend, Denise found the recipe awhile ago and I finally got to taste these babies this weekend. Go here to see a picture of them on Denise's blog. They are higher in calories but work great to ward off hunger, to eat before a work out or right after. They are very chewy and you can get a good amount of water down with them. Denise wraps them up individually and then freezes them to pull out as she wants one. I did the same. No time for breakfast...this is it my friend.

I made two changes to the recipe. One is they use soy milk. Denise and I subbed rice milk. It calls for dark choc chips. I get choc overload so I subbed part organic peanut butter chips and choc chips. I am happy with the substitutions. Let me know what you think about the recipe and if you make it how it turned out for you. Go here to see the recipe.

Good day at the Beach

2009-09-13T17:51:00.004-04:00

I spent the day at the beach with my daughter. It was such a great day. The weather was wonderful and it just felt nice to be at the beach as the summer starts to end. Here are some photos. The beach is Called, Washington Beach, in Michigan City, Indiana.

This is the view from where we were sitting. You can see the sailboat. There were tons of boats and jet skis.
This is my daughter watching the boats. There were some funny people around us so it was fun to just read and watch people.To the left you can see the light house and lots of boats.

My Daughter became a Mark Representative

2009-09-11T10:31:00.003-04:00

My daughter became a Mark Representative and anyone interested in looking at her website can go here. Free shipping on orders of $25 or more. Give it a look and see if you can find anything that interests you. Go here to see the website. You can also find her on my left side bar for the future.

Kroger's Sale

2009-09-09T16:48:00.002-04:00

Went to Kroger's yesterday to get hot dogs. My husband is an Eckrich hot dog freak. They have the hot dogs on sale for one dollar each and I had 10 coupons for .50 off two but Kroger doubles so that is 1.00 off. So I got twenty hot dogs for ten bucks. We freeze them and he pulls them out as he wants them.

A Little Light Humor

2009-09-05T22:08:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I had a flat tire on the interstate. So I eased my car over to
the shoulder of the road, carefully get out of the car and open the
trunk. .

I took out 2 cardboard men, unfolded them and stood them at the rear of
my car facing oncoming traffic. They look so life like you wouldn't
believe it!

They are in trench coats exposing their nude bodies to the approaching
drivers..

To my surprise, cars start slowing down looking at my lifelike men which
made it safer for me to work at the side of the road. And of course,
traffic starts backing up. Everybody is tooting their horns and waving
like crazy. It wasn't long before a state trooper pulls up behind me.

He gets out of his car and starts walking towards me.. I could tell he
was not a happy camper!

'What's going on here? '

'My car has a flat tire', I said calmly..

'Well, what are those obscene cardboard men doing here by the road? '

I couldn't believe that he didn't know. So I told him,
'Helloooooo, those are my emergency flashers!'

Making Stewed Tomatoes or Spaghetti Sauce

2009-09-01T19:59:00.008-04:00

How do you make your stewed tomatoes? Denise and I were having a conversation the other day about making tomato juice, sauce and more. We discussed that sometimes parts of the tomato goes to waste. I am sure there are better methods where you can use the juice, and the other parts but for us beginners and for ease of use the way I am about to show you has been the easiest for me when making stewed tomatoes. My Lasagna Garden is about done but I found a wealth of tomatoes from a close source and so the tomato canning/freezing continues.

The first thing you want to do is remove the skins because they become hard and yucky in when cooked. To do this boil a big pot of water and drop some of the tomatoes into it for 45 sec to 1 min. to blanch. If you have time making a big X on the bottom of the tomato can help to peel but I found that you really don't have to do so. I use tongs and grab the tomato out of the boiling water and place it in a bowl full of cold water. Most places will tell you it should have ice in it but I have found that using cold water from my tap has been fine. Place the tomato in there and then place more in the boiling water. Grab the ones out from the cold water and place in another bowl. And then just keep repeating until all your tomatoes are blanched. It takes only a few minutes. Below is a picture of what the tomatoes will look like when you blanch them. Notice the skins are coming off.
Now is the really messy part. I sat at the kitchen table and had a cutting board, a sharp knife, a clean bowl and a bowl for the discarded parts. Yes I find I use a lot of bowls. Being very careful because it is slippery peel off the skins and take the knife and core or cut off stem. Then cut in half (small) or quarters (bigger, rounder). Take your fingers (or a core scoop, fingers worked better) and just scrap out the seeds and take the harder whitish flesh with it. That doesn't break down in cooking.
This Roma type tomato is an easy tomato to de-seed. Below you see what a bigger, rounder tomato will look as you de-seed it.Once you have your tomatoes all done then comes the fun part. You get to really get dirty. You can use a potato masher of any other type of masher if you like and I do use those as I cook but for this first part you just stick you clean hands in the tomatoes and squish away.
Try taking a picture while squishing tomatoes....:). Once you are done squishing then put them into a pot and cook down. I put them on the lowest setting and slowly let them simmer apart. Stir every once and awhile and continue to break the tomatoes down with a masher if you don't want any chunks of tomato left. My family doesn't like the chunks so I break it down as much as I can. After you get the consistency you want you are ready to can or freeze. I made mine into spaghetti sauce and here you can see the product about an hour into the cooking. I will let this simmer for several hours and then cool slightly before I freeze it this evening.
A quick note. If you find you don't have enough tomatoes to make sauce then you can use what you have and add a few cans of tomato sauce. I did that with my first few batches because I didn't have enough tomatoes ripe to make a batch to freeze.

Making your own Cream of Mushroom Soup

2009-08-31T18:25:00.001-04:00

Today my friend Denise and I were discussing our canning/freezing over lunch. Our goal is to get as much "natural", "organic" and "homegrown" food/produce stored for winter. I told her I saw a recipe for cream of mushroom soup and after much searching I found it. This may be a lot better for cooking with because there is less salt and processed items in it...here it is if anyone wants to give it a try.

Surprise Party

2009-08-29T23:41:00.005-04:00

Just got back from my friend Denise's surprise 40th birthday party. Her birthday is in a few weeks. Her daughter, Hillary who is in college, her best friend Jodi and her true love Harry put this together for her. It was fun. Here are a few pictures from her party. You can see her blog here.

Above you see her cake...it was so cute. Can you see the little old lady in her rocking chair with her sweater on and her walker near by? LOL

Here you see the birthday girl and myself sitting with our friend Gale standing.

Canning Tomatoes and Peaces

2009-08-29T00:13:00.004-04:00

I am exhausted. I decided to go ahead and can some tomato juice. This was messy but overall pretty easy to do. I just cored them and used my vadalia chopper to chop them up. You put them into a big pot and cook them down. Then you strain them, put the juice in the jars and give them a water bath. Sound simple and it was but it is time consuming and messy. Several times I thought to myself Tomato Juice from Aldi's is cheap and easy but at least I have organic, good juice to make some chili this winter.

I also stewed some tomatoes. These I did the same as above except I blanched to peal the tomatoes then de-seeded the tomatoes, then put them into a big pot and simmer crushing them as they heat up. Then can as normal. You can use this to make sauces, chili, soups and more.

Then....I ran to the store for more jars and started in on the peaches. I blanched as I did the tomatoes to get the skins off, them pitted them and put them through the vadalia chopper. I got the perfect consistency for making jam. Here is the recipe I followed.

The jam is finishing up in its water bath and I am tired! I still have peaches left over and I wanted to make and can peach pie filling but need to find some thing called clear gel to use instead of cornstarch. If I cant find it tomorrow (walmart didn't have it) then it will just have to be canned/frozen peaches.

Time to freeze some more fruit

2009-08-25T15:40:00.003-04:00

How are all of you doing on freezing or canning your summer produce? I have done fairly well with all that I have gotten this year. So far I have frozen zucchini both shredded and finely grated for sauces. I have frozen spaghetti sauce and fresh blueberries.

My friend Denise has been doing a great job of getting her produce put up this year. She has frozen and canned: blueberries, cherries, strawberries (I believe) and she has canned tomatoes, peaches, made some jellies and is working on some pickles. Good job Denise.

I plan to go get some farm fresh peaches and freeze some this week. Not too many but enough that I can make some fruit crisps this winter. Go here if you want to see how to can/freeze peaches.

This freezing and canning works great for fresh foods. You know what you are eating. You know where it came from and is economical in the long run. I have never canned before. I used to watch my mom do it every year. We had a huge basement growing up and had shelving that was like a grocery store. My mom canned tomatoes and we never used store bought. My dad (he did all the grocery shopping) stocked the shelves with food that he got on sale. He was a coupon man and whenever we needed something we just went downstairs. I have no space to put any canning I would do. I do have a big deep freezer in the garage. I would love to can but just don't know where I would put it.

Leave your stories of gardening, canning and freezing good or bad so we can all hear your great stories.

Got Cabbage?

2009-08-24T17:36:00.000-04:00

Cabbage is really cheap right now and a lot of you have it coming out of the garden so here is a recipe for stuffed cabbage from Marilyn's Money blog. Its a family secret recipe she is sharing. I for one might give this one a try. Never had it but it looked good.

My Graduation Party was today

2009-08-23T21:29:00.006-04:00

My party was today. It took a lot of work but was worth it. It was so fun to have a bunch of people over and eat, drink and be merry. Here are a few pictures of the party.

My cousins playing ladder ball.Kendall taking a dip in the cold pool.
Everyone eating.
My cupcake cake. You just pull the cupcakes as you want one.

Do you have one of these?

2009-08-21T15:31:00.004-04:00

My mom turned me onto this handy dandy little chopper. I have had products like it before but they never lasted long and they took too much time to mess with however this one is so....so...worth it. The Vidalia Onion chopper is fantastic. It dices tomatoes perfectly. It dices hard potatoes and I used it to make potato salad twice now. My daughter did the eggs in it and it was wonderful. I did cucumbers in it today as well. My mom uses it just about everyday. This is so worth it. It is fast, easy to clean and I see hearty stews, dips, salads and more in my future. I paid $19.99 at Bed Bath and Beyond for it. I think they might have them at Walgreen's as well. If you are thinking about getting one then its a thumbs up from me.

Getting Ready for My Party

2009-08-18T18:54:00.003-04:00

I am throwing myself a graduation party this Sunday. After 11 years of college, I think I deserve a party. :)

I am making a quadruple batch of peanut butter cookies. Boy did these turn out good. The recipe is found on www.jif.com. Irresistible Peanut butter cookies.

I also have a mile long list of things to do this week. The weather is supposed to be 78 and sunny so keep your fingers crossed for me.

FYI's

2009-08-16T14:30:00.002-04:00

Summer is a hard time to blog. You are outside, swimming, playing, gardening, and not indoors so much. I am trying to get back into the swing of using my coupons. We all fall off the coupon wagon once in awhile.

Meijers has Hellman's mayo 2/3 this week and you can get a meijer meal box coupon for a $1 off. So do two transactions and you can get it for .50 each...but wait. There are Hellman's coupons floating around out there for .60. So you can actually make a dime or break even as the store deems fit.

I use coupon clippers (located on my left side bar) to buy extra coupons. This week I bought several Hellman's coupons. I plan on stocking up. I also got a few mustard coupons. I know this will be a free item with labor day sales coming up. I bought a few puffs tissue (allergy season) and liquid dawn because I am near out of these two items and need to restock. I bought a few others too. My total with shipping is under $4 and I will more then make that up as I use them in the next week. They get to your house really fast too. So there is no problem in using them this week when they get here.

The best thing to do is to check your ad, check the coupon generator at meijermealbox.com see if there is anything matching and what you need coupons for then if you need to purchase some go for it.

A Time to Vent

2009-08-13T11:19:00.002-04:00

I can not tell everyone how hard it is to take care of a parent. Your roles are reversed you become the parent and they the children, however you can not treat them like children because they are your elders and they have their own opinions. Your child you can tell what to do and they have to do it. Your parent feels that they don't have to do what you tell them (when they actually do have to do it) and so the back and forth begins.

My father in law has dementia. Some days are better then others. Most days he is OK remembers most daily things but he forgets names, he can't fix himself anything to eat or drink as a matter of fact if we didn't make him eat/drink then he wouldn't do it at all. He talked on the phone a few weeks ago and he forgot how to hold it. He stays in his bedroom except for lunch and dinner. He wont go outside, he won't go anywhere or do anything. This is not depression, this is his personality. He has been reclusive and ornery for his whole life. Try living with that.

This week we started him at his new adult day care center. He goes on Tue/Thur. 11-5. He doesn't want to go, he said he wasn't going, he argues about when we are taking him and when we are picking him up. He grumbles because he has to take a bath before he goes and today was carrying on about not shaving so my husband finally just gave in and didn't shave him. He came out and argued some more.

To make matters worse my brother in law doesn't help us at all. As a matter of fact he has not called or inquired about his father since April. He lives in this area. However he is at my father in laws house doing things around the house several times a week. Can you tell he wants the property? My father in law gets on this kick where he says Bobby is going to come get him, bobby this and bobby that it is so frustrating. Bobby is not doing squat and when he eventually does come around he will be the prodigal son. He has no idea what it is like to be with my father in law everyday, he has no idea what his issues are, his medications, even his true dementia. He thinks eventually my father in law will go home and when we used to tell him that just wasn't happening he just didn't want to hear it.

I am frustrated. My husband is frustrated. My daughter and her boyfriend are frustrated. I actually said to my husband (jokingly) "I understand why people beat older people." I would never do that but like I said with an ornery 2 year old you may give them a spank on the behind and tell them not to talk to you that way.....with a parent you cant. We told him he was going to have to go to a nursing home if he kept it up and he of course said so? Bobby will come get me.
And so we go in another circle again.

Doggie update

2009-08-11T23:28:00.001-04:00

We went to the vet for an exam. She was so funny on the way there she was happy lying on the seat wondering what was going on....then I parked in front of the vet's office and I swear to you all she jumped in my lap and physically started shaking like a leaf!

But I assured her we were only there for a bit. She got checked out and blood work done. Her blood work came back great and the liver is back to normal, which means the infections is gone or under control. (she still has meds left) The vet was happy with what she saw. The hole was a good size so it is taking awhile to heal and she scratches a bit but it is improving.

She has stopped following me all over the place, is eating and almost back to normal. She takes a few extra naps during the day where I can tell she is wiped out. I am very grateful that we were able to finally figure the fly bite/larva thing and get her on track to healing.

Strawberry Cheesecake ...Yummo

2009-08-10T23:14:00.007-04:00

I saw this recipe in the coupons this past Sunday for Strawberry Streusel Cheesecake and decided to give it a try. It was very easy to make and had a twist on the crust/streusel...they used Martha White muffin mix. Those little package muffin mixes you see in the baking aisle. Here is the recipe. It calls to use a spring foam pan but I couldn't find mine and my square pan worked fine.

Crust: Spray pan, 2 packages of Martha White Strawberry Muffin Mix and 6 T of cold butter.

Cut the butter into the muffin mix with fork or pastry blender until crumbles form. Remove 1 1/3 of mixture and put in fridge for the topping. Press the remaining mixture into pan and put in a pre-heated 350 oven for ten minutes.

Filling: 2 8oz cream cheese, 1/2 c sugar, 2 T all purpose flour, 1 egg, 1 t. vanilla

Using a hand mixer put room temp cream cheese and all other ingredients into a bowl and blend until creamy. Here is the hardest part of the recipe......keep your fingers out of the bowl, keep your tongue away from the mixture and don't lick the spoons or spatula....because this stuff tasted wonderful even before cooked!

Gentle put cream cheese mixture onto the top of the crust mixture. The crust mixture will move around if you try to spread it so just spoon it in and then lightly spread it on the top to disperse.

Topping: Spread 1 can strawberry topping on top of cheese cake and then Take the streusel topping and add 1/4 cup of walnuts (I used pecans...they were good) and gently spread over the top of the strawberries.

Put this into the oven for 40-45 mins. Do not over cook. I kept it in twice for 5 minutes each because I thought it needed more time and the crust came out a little hard and the cream cheese would have been creamier had I not added minutes. Trust the recipe guidelines. (it was still so good)

This was a richly, sweet dessert. I can see substituting graham cracker crusts if you wanted to tone it down a bit but I have to tell you I really liked this recipe and will make it again.

Shell Salad

2009-08-09T12:56:00.007-04:00

I have mentioned this salad before but since I was making again today I decided to take some pictures and post it. It is very simple, cheap and I have never had anyone not like it. Its a standard in my family. I will appoximated recipe.

I have fresh tomatoes coming from the garden and I picked a few strangler cucumbers as well as zucchini and green beans this morning. I thought I would use as much as I could today so I though of Shell salad. You can use any pasta but the shells work really well and we just prefer it. Also I am a real mayo girl however this pasta salad uses miracle whip salad dressing and you really need to use that because it gives it that zing that the salad needs.

1 box pasta shells
2 medium to large cucumbers
3-4 ripe tomatoes
Miracle whip Salad dressing

Boil and cook pasta draining well. In the mean time chop up tomatoes and peeled cucumbers into bite sized pieces. Combine all ingredients (pasta, veggies) and begin to add the Miracle whip by big spoonfuls. I can't tell you exactly how much because it just depends on the amount of tomatoes, cucs, juiciness, just add and stir until it is coated and not looking dry. Salt and pepper a little bit.

This salad is best sitting over night or several good hours in the fridge. Stir well before use, if it looks a little dry add a few spoonfuls of miracle whip. This is a salad that I find needs a lot of salt to taste so I suggest just letting people add salt if they like more. You can make as much or as little as you like. If you like lots of tomatoes and cucs then add more. If you want to make a smaller batch just use less pasta. Very versatile.

Tomatoes...What are you going to do with yours?

2009-08-06T10:28:00.004-04:00

All of us gardeners have tomatoes that are just ripening or you are getting more than you can handle right now. What are your tomato plans?

I made some great meat sauce with my first tomato harvest. I plan on freezing the rest of my tomatoes in various ways. Here is some sites that can help you decide how to use your tomatoes. You can make tomato sauce, paste, spaghetti sauce or just freeze the tomatoes to use as needed.

If you are new to freezing or canning or just need to brush up on your knowledge then these sites are helpful as well. It showed me how to quickly blanch the tomatoes to get the skins off, how to cut and de-seed the tomatoes. There is step by step instructions on how to make all the different tomato options.

Spaghetti sauce go here.
How to freeze tomatoes go here.
How to make tomato paste go here.
How to make tomato sauce go here.

Remember that you can freeze or can the tomatoes. I plan on freezing them. I might try and can a few just to see but no sure because freezing is so easy.

Here is the meat sauce I made. I prepared the tomatoes as they suggested. I blanched them, peeled the skins, cut in half took out pulp and seeds. Put the tomato in a strainer and squeezed them. In the mean time I browned hamburger in olive oil and garlic paste. I also salted and peppered it. I then added my cheese grated zucchini. No one can even tell it was added to the browned beef. I added the tomatoes, and canned tomato sauce (of course didn't have any of my own at this time) so used what garden tomatoes I had and canned sauce. I added a bit of parsley, thyme, more pepper and some sugar. I slow cooked it on the lowest setting for about 2 hours and it was really good. The actual amount of everything is going to very for every person. So experiment and have some fun. I don't like bay leaves or basil so I never add them if I can avoid it.